Query and View Designer Layout

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Both the Query Designer and View Designer consist of four panes: the Diagram pane, the Grid pane, the SQL pane, and the Results pane.

  • The Diagram pane displays the tables and other table structured-objects that you are querying. Each rectangle represents a table or table-structured object and shows the available data columns as well as icons that indicate how each column is used in the query. Joins are indicated by lines between the rectangles. For more information, see Diagram Pane.

  • The Grid pane contains a spreadsheet-like grid in which you specify options, such as which data columns to display, what rows to select, how to group rows, and so on. For more information, see Grid Pane.

  • The SQL pane displays the SQL statement for the query or view. You can edit the SQL statement created by the Designer or you can enter your own SQL statement. It is particularly useful for entering SQL statements that cannot be created using the Diagram and Grid panes, such as Union queries . For more information, see SQL Pane.

  • The Results pane shows a grid with data retrieved by the query or view.  In the Query Designer, the pane shows the results of the most recently executed Select query . You can modify the database by editing values in the cells of the grid, and you can add or delete rows. For more information, see Results Pane.  In the View Designer, the results pane shows the contents of the view.

You can create a query or view by working in any of the panes: you can specify a column to display by choosing it in the Diagram pane, entering it into the Grid pane, or making it part of the SQL statement in the SQL pane. The Diagram, Grid, and SQL panes are synchronized — when you make a change in one pane, the other panes automatically reflect the change.

See Also

Diagram Pane | Grid Pane | Navigating in the Query Designer | Results Pane | SQL Pane