Fix Notion Database Card Preview Showing Wrong Property Excerpt

When you hover over a linked database card in Notion, the preview popup may display the wrong property excerpt. For example, it might show a formula result instead of the title, or a hidden property instead of the one you set as the excerpt. This problem occurs because Notion uses a specific property order and excerpt logic that is not always obvious to the user. This article explains why the preview picks the wrong property and provides step-by-step fixes to control which property appears in the card preview.

Why Notion Shows the Wrong Property in Card Preview

Notion’s card preview feature displays an excerpt from a database row when you hover over a linked card. The excerpt is controlled by two settings: the property you explicitly select in the view’s Card Preview option, and the fallback logic if no property is selected.

By default, if you do not set a specific property for the card preview, Notion picks the first text-based property that appears after the Title property in the database schema. This can be a formula property, a rollup, a select option, or any text field. If your database has multiple text properties, the preview may show the wrong one because the property order is not what you expect.

Another common cause is using a linked database view that inherits the card preview setting from the source database. The linked view may not have its own Card Preview setting, so it uses the source database’s setting, which might be set to a property you do not want to show.

How Notion Determines the Card Preview Excerpt

When you hover over a card, Notion looks for the excerpt in this order:

1. Explicit Card Preview property set in the view
   If you have selected a property in the view’s Card Preview dropdown, that property is used.
2. First text property after the Title in the database schema
   If no explicit property is set, Notion reads the properties in the order they appear in the database settings and picks the first text property after the Title column.
3. Formula or rollup that returns text
   If no plain text property exists after the Title, Notion falls back to the first formula or rollup property that outputs text.

Steps to Set the Correct Card Preview Property

You can fix the wrong excerpt by explicitly choosing which property to show in the card preview. The steps differ slightly depending on whether you are working in the source database or a linked database view.

Method 1: Set the Card Preview Property in the Source Database View

1. Open the database view
   Navigate to the database that contains the cards. This is the source database where the rows are stored.
2. Click the view name at the top of the database
   A dropdown menu appears. Select Layout from the menu.
3. Locate the Card Preview section
   In the Layout panel, find the Card Preview dropdown. It is labeled “Card Preview” and shows the current property being used.
4. Select the correct property
   Click the dropdown and choose the property that should appear as the excerpt. For example, choose “Summary” or “Description” instead of “Formula”.
5. Close the Layout panel
   Click outside the panel or press Escape. The card preview now shows the selected property.

Method 2: Override Card Preview in a Linked Database

If you are viewing cards through a linked database (a view that references another database), the card preview setting may be inherited. To override it:

1. Click the linked database view name
   Find the view name at the top of the linked database block. Click it to open the view options.
2. Select Layout from the menu
   In the dropdown, choose Layout to open the layout settings for this specific linked view.
3. Find the Card Preview dropdown
   Scroll to the Card Preview section. It may show “Use source database setting” or the name of a property from the source database.
4. Change the selection to a different property
   Click the dropdown and select the property you want to appear in this linked view. This overrides the source database’s setting for this view only.
5. Confirm the change
   Close the Layout panel. Hover over a card to verify the preview now shows the correct property.

Method 3: Reorder Properties in the Database Schema

If you prefer not to set an explicit Card Preview property, you can reorder the properties so that the desired text property appears first after the Title. This changes the fallback excerpt for all views that do not have an explicit Card Preview set.

1. Open the database settings
   Click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner of the database, then select Properties.
2. Drag the desired property to the second position
   In the Properties list, find the property you want to appear in the card preview. Click and drag it so it appears immediately below the Title property.
3. Ensure the property is a text type
   Notion only uses text-based properties for the fallback excerpt. If the property is a formula, rollup, or select, it may still be used, but a plain Text property is preferred.
4. Close the Properties panel
   The new property order takes effect immediately. Hover over a card to check the preview.

If Notion Still Shows the Wrong Excerpt After Changing the Setting

Card Preview Shows a Formula Instead of the Selected Property

This can happen if the selected property is a formula that returns a blank or empty string. Notion may fall back to another property if the selected one is empty. To fix this, ensure the formula property always returns a non-empty value, or choose a different property that always contains text.

Linked Database Does Not Respect the Source Database’s Card Preview

A linked database view may have its own Card Preview setting that overrides the source database. Check the linked view’s Layout panel. If it shows a specific property name, that property is used instead of the source database’s setting. Change it to the correct property or set it to “Use source database setting” to inherit.

Card Preview Shows a Hidden Property

If a property is hidden in the database view, it can still appear in the card preview if it is selected in the Card Preview dropdown. To stop this, either unhide the property or choose a different property for the card preview. Hidden properties are still readable by the card preview system.

Changes to Card Preview Do Not Appear Immediately

Notion may cache the card preview for a few seconds. Refresh the page by pressing F5 or closing and reopening the database. If the problem persists, clear the browser cache for Notion or try a different browser.

Notion Database Card Preview Settings: Source Database vs Linked View

Item	Source Database View	Linked Database View
Default behavior	Uses the first text property after Title if no Card Preview is set	Inherits the source database’s Card Preview setting
How to change	View > Layout > Card Preview dropdown	Linked view > Layout > Card Preview dropdown
Override capability	Affects all linked views that inherit this setting	Overrides source setting for this linked view only
Fallback property	First text property after Title in database schema	Same as source database if no explicit property set
Hidden properties	Can still appear in preview if selected	Can still appear in preview if selected

Understanding these differences helps you control exactly which property appears when you hover over a card, whether you are working in the original database or a linked view.

Now you can set the card preview property correctly in any database view. If you have multiple linked databases, check each one’s Layout settings to ensure they show the right excerpt. For advanced control, consider creating a dedicated Text property that always contains a short summary and placing it immediately after the Title in the property order. This guarantees the preview shows the content you want, even if you forget to set the Card Preview dropdown.