Adding one to a number manually can get tedious, especially when you’re tracking habits, inventory, or daily sales in Notion. In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to create:
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a “+1” button to increment any number field by one
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a “–1” button to undo accidental clicks
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a reset button to set all counters to zero.
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a database button that logs your daily total in a separate tracker
By the end, you’ll have a solution that will look something like this: 👇
Video Tutorial
Instructions
1. Creating the +1 database button
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First make sure you have a database with a number property (the property you want to add 1 to) - in this tutorial I will refer to this as the Counter database (your may be called something else)
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If you do not have a database, create one named Counter and make sure it has a Number property
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Add a button property
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Click on the button property and select Edit automation
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At the top, give the button a label (tip. use emoji's)
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Click on New action
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Select the number property and select Custom formula
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In the formula box type the formula shown below 👇
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Explanation
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This page - returns the record the database button was clicked in
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dot (.) - will then list all the properties in this record
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Select the number property you want to add 1 to.
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+ 1 adds 1 to the the number
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Save
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Test - each click of the button should add 1 to the number property.
2. Create the -1 database button
The easiest way to create this button is to duplicate the button you've just made and then alter the name and formula:
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Right click on the “+1” button property and select Duplicate property.
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Right click on the new property and select Edit automation
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Click in the formula
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Change the + to -
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Change the button label
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Save
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Test - each click of the button should add 1 to the number property.
3. BONUS: Log daily totals
This will allow you to log a daily record of your number tally. So at the end of the day, when you’ve finished tallying your habits, sales, etc., you click a database button to record the total. Then it sets the number back to zero in the counter database.
1 Create a Tracker Database
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Create a new database ( I named mine Tracker)
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Add a Date property
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Add a Number property
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Add a Relation property that has a 2-way relation back to your Counter database. This is an optional step but will benefit you in the future if you want to start tracking statistics and totals.
2 Add a “Record” database button
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In your Counter database, add a button property.
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Right click on the property and select Edit automation
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Add a New action - select Add page to
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Select the Tracker database in the Select database section
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Select Date under Edit property drop down list
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Select Date triggered - this will record the date the button was clicked on
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Select the Number property under the next Edit property drop down list
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Click on Edit as formula (formula symbol)
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Type in This page
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Dot (.)
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Select the Number property from the Counter database
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Optional - Add an automated title value to the new record - in this example I add the date followed by the Name from the counter database (i.e the habit)
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In the same section click on the Edit as formula for the Name (title) property
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Add the title you want to use, copy the formula below to get the date followed by habit
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Your button automation should now look something like this 👇
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Click Save
4. Final Touches & Layout
Now it's time to make the database look good and become part of your workspace
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Turn each database into a page
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Select the database and pick Turn into page
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Create a table view of your counter database
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Turn the view into a list view - select layout - List view
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Make the button properties visible - select Property visibility - select the button properties
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Adjust column widths or add filters to focus on active habits/items.
5. Optional - Add a Refresh all button
You can add a Refresh All button to the page where you have the list view of the Counter database
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Add a button to the page (type /button)
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Give the Button a label and icon
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Click Add action
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Select Edit pages in
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Select the Counter database
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Under Edit a property select the Number property
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Add 0 as the value
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It should look like this 👇
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Click Done
