Parabola tables & visualizations
In this lesson, we dive into dashboards and visualizations and the core concepts behind Tables — databases that live in Parabola.
Building challenge | Part 1 (Tables)
- Above your “Trigger an email” card, add a card titled “Create a Parabola Table” and add a Send to Parabola Table step to the card
- Within the step, name your table “Parabola University Sales Data”, and keep the “Overwrite the table” setting as-is
- Hit “Run Flow” to populate the Table with data
Check your work ▼
Building challenge | Part 2 (Visualizations)
In this challenge, we’ll create a visualization on the canvas to look at sales over time.
- Below your “Trigger an email” card, add a card titled, “Visualize sales over time” and add a Visualize step to the card
- Draw an arrow from Categorize with AI to Visualize and click “Edit this view”
- In the top left, change the view from a Table to a Column chart
- Name the chart “Sales over time”, and make the X-axis Order date
- Under Y-axis, click “+ Add series”, then select Revenue (also change Count all to Sum)
- Bonus: In your X- and Y-axis options, name your axes “Month” and “Revenue” respectively and format your Y-axis as currency
Check your work ▼
Exporting and Actioning on Your Data in Parabola
Now that we’ve pulled in data from multiple sources, transformed it, and even leveraged AI, it’s time to take action on that data. This might involve:
✅ Sending data to external systems (e.g., Google Sheets, Shopify, APIs)
✅ Building databases that live in Parabola
✅ Creating dashboards and visualizations for better insights
Where to Find Export Options
Under the Integrations tab, you’ll find Destinations, which include:
- Parabola Tables – Databases that can store up to 5 million records and make it easy to share standardized datasets across flows.
- Visualizations – Custom charts, graphs, and tables to build dashboards for your team.
Beyond these, Parabola also supports:
- Google Sheets & Shopify exports
- Email and Slack notifications
- Custom API calls
Example: Sending a CSV via Email
One of the most common exports is the Email a CSV Attachment step. Here’s how to set it up:
- Connect the step to the rest of your flow.
- Enter the recipient’s email address.
- Set the subject line (e.g., "Parabola University Demo").
- Click ‘Update Results’—but note that this won’t send the email yet.
Running Your Flow to Send Data
Unlike transformations that update instantly, sending data to external systems requires running your flow.
- Click Run Flow in the top-right corner.
- Until you click ‘Run Flow’, everything remains in a sandbox environment, meaning no data is sent.
- Once the flow runs, the email with the CSV attachment will appear in your inbox.
Working with Drafts
Parabola allows you to create drafts, so you can experiment safely without affecting your production workflow.
Next Steps: Tables & Visualizations
Now that we’ve covered the basics of exporting data, the next lesson will focus on Parabola Tables and Visualizations.
Try It Yourself!
Check out the building challenge below to practice sending data to external systems. Let us know if you have any questions! 🚀