> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.redivis.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.redivis.com/reference/tables/using-tables.md).

# Using tables

As the fundamental data-containing entity on Redivis, you will likely be interacting with tables a lot. While tables can just be [downloaded](/reference/tables/exporting-tables.md), it will often be easier and more performant to work with tables directly on Redivis, particularly when the table is large.

## Exploring tables

To develop a baseline understanding of a table and its contents, you will often start by viewing the table. You can browse its [variables](/reference/tables/variables.md), read univariate [summary statistics](/reference/tables/variables.md#univariate-statistics), scroll through [cells](/reference/tables/cells.md), and execute one-off [SQL queries](/reference/tables/queries.md) to better understand a table's contents.

## Querying in a transform

Tables can be referenced by any [transform](/reference/workflows/transforms.md) in a [workflow](/reference/workflows.md). Transforms allow you to construct queries that filter, join, merge, and compute upon any table on Redivis, at scale. Every transform produces a single output table, which can subsequently be used for downstream analysis.

## Loading and querying in a notebook

Tables can also be referenced by any [notebook](/reference/workflows/notebooks.md) in a [workflow](/reference/workflows.md). These notebooks allow you to execute [Python](/reference/workflows/notebooks/python-notebooks.md), [R](/reference/workflows/notebooks/r-notebooks.md), [Stata](/reference/workflows/notebooks/stata-notebooks.md), and [SAS](/reference/workflows/notebooks/sas-notebooks.md) code within a flexible computational environment. The code that you write in a Redivis notebook is the same as what you would write from any external system referencing Redivis tables, ensuring portability of your analysis.

## Importing into a dataset

Finally, tables can be [imported into datasets](/reference/datasets/create-and-edit-datasets/import-sources.md#redivis)! This can be helpful when you're using workflows to construct a "cleaned" version of a dataset, or when you want to store a final, permanent artifact of your analysis results.


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