Added loop table functionality?

Question

Can the Tables created in loop add similar functionality to edit the ghost text to reflect the headers? and furthermore, allow for functions used in MS Excel be used to automate some functions like generation an identifying issue number?

Answer 1

Hi @Ombogo, Jamie, 

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum.  

Thank you very much for sharing your experience regarding Microsoft Loop tables. I appreciate your feedback on wanting to adjust the ghost/placeholder text to reflect column headers, as well as your interest in using Excel‑style formulas to automatically generate Issue IDs. 

I'd like to provide the following information: 

A - Current capabilities & limitations in Loop 

• Ghost/placeholder text in Loop tables cannot be customized yet. It’s not currently possible to change or auto‑sync the placeholder with the column header. 
• Loop table formulas are limited to basic numeric summaries (Sum, Average, Count, Min, Max). Calculated columns like those in Excel are not yet supported, so auto‑generating an Issue ID directly inside Loop is not available. 

For more advanced needs, Loop allows you to Export to Excel, where you can use full Excel functionality.  

Please note that the export is one‑way changes in Excel do not sync back to Loop. 

B - Recommend workarounds 

1/ Continue working in Loop > Export to Excel when automation is needed 

Enter data collaboratively in Loop, then export to Excel to apply formulas for auto‑numbering or formatting Issue IDs.  

2/ Use Dataverse if you need enterprise‑grade numbering logic 

Dataverse supports Autonumber fields (with prefixes, dates, or fully custom patterns), ideal for more structured or large‑scale issue tracking. 

For your reference: Autonumber columns in Microsoft Dataverse - Power Apps | Microsoft Learn 

3/ Use Microsoft Lists as an issue tracker 

Microsoft Lists includes a built‑in auto‑incrementing ID column. You can also use Power Automate to build a formatted ID like ISSUE-000123 when a new item is created. 

In case you require more in-depth guidance or support for these steps, I’d recommend posting your query in the Microsoft Power Automate Community. This is a dedicated channel for Power Automate discussions. The reason I suggest posting a new topic there is that in the general Q&A Forum, resources and expertise on Power Automate are limited. In the Microsoft Power Platform Community Forum, you’ll find the most qualified group of respondents, and other partners who regularly read the forums can share their knowledge or learn from your interaction. 

C - Submit Feedback to Microsoft 

As a forum moderator, I hope you understand that I don’t have the ability to modify or escalate product issues directly. However, I strongly recommend submitting your feedback through the Loop · Community. This is the most effective way to ensure your voice reaches the product team and can be considered for future improvements.

  Once you've submitted your feedback, feel free to share the link here in the comments. I’ll be happy to upvote it to help bring more visibility.  

Additionally, since many other users have expressed similar concerns but may not know where to submit feedback, if my response has helped you better understand the situation and guided you toward a possible next step, please mark it as the "Accepted Answer". Your action will help pin this post to the top, making it easier for others in the community who are experiencing the same issue to find your feedback and support it.    

Thank you again for your time and for raising this important usability concern. 

---

If you have any extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".   

Note: Follow the steps in our documentation to enable email notifications if you want to receive email notifications related to this topic.   

Answer 2

Loop tables (Loop components of type table) support collaborative editing, but the provided information does not describe:

• Any feature to automatically change or "ghost" placeholder text in rows based on the column headers, or
• Any support for Excel-style formulas or functions inside Loop tables (such as using Excel functions to generate IDs or issue numbers).

Loop components created in Teams and Outlook are stored as .loop files in OneDrive and can be edited across Teams, Outlook, Loop, Whiteboard, OneNote, and other Microsoft 365 surfaces, but they are not described as embedding Excel calculation functionality.

To automate identifiers today, Excel tables with formulas would need to be used in Excel itself; this behavior is not documented for Loop tables in the provided material.

---

References:

• Overview of Loop components in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem