Add a table from a CSV file

In this tutorial you'll use dnfmt, the open-source command-line tool for DunneNote notebooks, to put a spreadsheet export on a page as a table, then keep a second table up to date from a script. The result looks exactly as if you had dropped the file onto the page in DunneNote.

You'll need#

• dnfmt on your path, and DunneNote 0.9.
• A notebook, for example the Trip.dunnenote from Create a notebook from a script, closed in DunneNote.
• A CSV file such as bookings.csv, whose first row names the columns:

Place,Nights,Paid,Arrive
Florence,3,true,2026-06-01
Siena,2,false,2026-06-04

Import the file#

The table is a Data Table: it shows the file as it was imported. dnfmt reads the file the way DunneNote does. The first row names the columns; the delimiter can be a comma, a semicolon or a tab; Nights is recognised as numbers, Paid as true or false, and Arrive as dates. The file itself is kept in the notebook, so the table can always be traced back to it.

A Data Table can't be edited. To change the rows, import a new file, or use an Editable table as below.

Keep a list in an Editable table#

A value that looks like a number is stored as a number, as it is when you type it into the table in DunneNote.

Check it and open it#

Next#

• dnfmt and the format library
• Data Table and Editable table
• Create a notebook from a script