# Will the Data table Widget and the "Add Cells" Menu come back for version 2 **URL:** \ **Category:** Feedback\ **Created:** [September 8, 2026, 12:50pm UTC](https://talk.observablehq.com/t/will-the-data-table-widget-and-the-add-cells-menu-come-back-for-version-2/10829 "2026-09-08T12:50:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pr-ju](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/talk.observablehq.com/pr-ju/32/9988_2.png) [@pr-ju](https://talk.observablehq.com/u/pr-ju)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2026, 12:50pm UTC](https://talk.observablehq.com/t/will-the-data-table-widget-and-the-add-cells-menu-come-back-for-version-2/10829/1 "2026-09-08T12:50:55Z")
It was a real help for beginners and students to be oriented and do a first glance at the data and its existing values and distributions per column (see pictures). It also allowed adding new columns with values calculated row-based. I use this for actual data transformation and processing of the raw material while keeping the original. Will all these features come back, since it helped students and novices in data handling and data viz tremendously? These features were a clear advantage over other tools… PR ![Screenshot 2026-09-08 at 14.19.56](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/uploads/observablehq/original/2X/3/3a8dd80bd852e95757cdd548ec99695b3301a09e.png) ---
**Author:** ![mbostock](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/talk.observablehq.com/mbostock/32/9_2.png) [@mbostock](https://talk.observablehq.com/u/mbostock)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2026, 3:23pm UTC](https://talk.observablehq.com/t/will-the-data-table-widget-and-the-add-cells-menu-come-back-for-version-2/10829/2 "2026-09-08T15:23:37Z")
The short answer is no. The longer answer is that there are forthcoming improvements that will provide related functionality with significantly more capabilities. I discuss the rationale for removing the add cell menu and data table cells here, along with the role of AI for synthesizing common code snippets: > [@Officially announcing the new Observable](https://talk.observablehq.com/t/officially-announcing-the-new-observable/10782/5): > > Thanks for the feedback, @lenaMK. And sorry for the bad timing! AI is entirely optional; you’ll be able to teach without it. We think AI is a helpful tool for learning (when used judiciously) but completely understand any reservations you may have. We’ve no plans to implement non-code cell modes ([data table cells](https://old.observablehq.com/documentation/cells/data-table) and [chart cells](https://old.observablehq.com/documentation/cells/chart)) in new Observable. While these cell modes were convenient and arguably friendlier for some users, they were extremely limited and added a lot of complexity to the use… > [@Officially announcing the new Observable](https://talk.observablehq.com/t/officially-announcing-the-new-observable/10782/18): > > No, we’re not planning on reintroducing the “Add cell menu” as it was called. Many users found it disruptive and distracting when creating new cells. We’ll likely bring back equivalent code snippets that are available via code autocomplete, like these (although I find these snippets to be a little bit too opaque and want to find a way to see a little bit more of the code before it’s inserted): Another technique is … The forthcoming improvements to SQL cells should address much of the functionality previously provided by data table cell, including visual summaries with interactive filtering, but the SQL cell is much more expressive (since you can write SQL) and therefore less of a “dead end”. > [@Officially announcing the new Observable](https://talk.observablehq.com/t/officially-announcing-the-new-observable/10782/19): > > We hear you. Hopefully the forthcoming improvements to SQL cells will serve this purpose. If we make it easy enough to create a SQL cell from a file (something like SELECT \* FROM file), then you’ll get the same visual summaries and filters as the past data table cell. But unlike the data table cell, the query can be much more expressive if and when you want it to be. ---
**Author:** ![pr-ju](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/talk.observablehq.com/pr-ju/32/9988_2.png) [@pr-ju](https://talk.observablehq.com/u/pr-ju)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2026, 4:22pm UTC](https://talk.observablehq.com/t/will-the-data-table-widget-and-the-add-cells-menu-come-back-for-version-2/10829/3 "2026-09-08T16:22:50Z")
But in terms of systematics, it shouldn’t be a data table cell the parent/generalization of an SQL cell so that all analytical features are available to all other children (CSV, SQL, etc.). The data table provided very easy access for people with early coding skills (as novice students are). It seems that easy access features, also like the “add cell menu,” are no longer the focus, which made it attractive for choosing it for the lab class of my InfoVis course where the students liked it very much for three years now working with the old observable interface, especially since it had a good balance between "visual support, " including telling you its capabilities visually up front, and focussing the programming on the visualizations themselves. They really enjoyed the lab classes with Plot in the old notebook, and I even used it for the exam. Wasn’t it the idea to help people with “limited/early” coding skills to focus on creating visualizations with the reduced OJS and visually/interactively supporting the rest? I can tell from my course that this worked. I’m sorry about my tone, but that is a bad surprise given that my course is only 4 weeks away. Best PR ---
**Author:** ![mbostock](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/talk.observablehq.com/mbostock/32/9_2.png) [@mbostock](https://talk.observablehq.com/u/mbostock)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2026, 5:10pm UTC](https://talk.observablehq.com/t/will-the-data-table-widget-and-the-add-cells-menu-come-back-for-version-2/10829/4 "2026-09-08T17:10:39Z")
You’ll be able to use a SQL cell to query CSV and other tabular data, so my hope is this will be similarly convenient to get started but without the severe functional limitations of the data table cell (such as the inability to join tables). We’re still very much interested in making data analysis and computation more generally more accessible and interpretable. But we’re trying to avoid “dead ends” that are easy to get started but do not scale to meet real-world needs. We’re hoping that our new approaches will offer significantly more capabilities and help people go much farther than they could before. Of course, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, so we please wait to pass judgment until the new features are available. Until then (and for some time beyond), please continue to use Old Observable if you prefer it.