Viewing the Data in a Table

Overview

You can quickly review the data in a selected table by using the Data Viewer tab to display the data. You can also use this tab to search, filter, or sort the data; save it as a query or profile; or generate a simple reporting graphic based on the data.

You can display this tab in any context in which a table can be selected such as the Data Connections Riser or a query flow. The Data Viewer tab enables you to perform the following tasks:

• Navigate the Data
• Search the Data
• Filter the Data
• Sort the Data
• Save as an SQL Query
• Profile the Table
• Open the Report Pane

Note that you can also preview the results of a node in a data job by selecting the node and clicking the Preview tab in the Details pane. When a node cannot be displayed, an icon is shown on the node. Put your cursor over the icon to see why the preview failed.

Navigate the Data

You can easily navigate in the table data. You can use the navigation tools to perform the following tasks:

• Enter a row number in the Go to row field. Then, click Go to row to specify the number of the first row that is displayed in the table.
• Click Go to the first row to navigate to the first row of data in the data viewer.
• Click Go to the last row to navigate to the last row of data in the data viewer.

Search the Data

You can click Find to display the search fields for the data viewer. You can use these fields to perform the following tasks:

• Enter a search term in the Find field. Note that you can use the drop-down list to select a term from a previous search.
• Set a find option by clicking Set find options. These options control how the search term is parsed and whether the whole word and the case are matched.
• Specify the fields that are searched in the In fields field. You can click Select fields to find match to specify the data type for the fields or to select fields by name.
• Click Find Next to go to the next match.
• Click Find Previous to go to the previous match.

Note: Use the following syntax to search for empty strings, nulls, and null strings: 1) Leave the Find field empty to search for empty strings; 2) Enter (NULL) to search for nulls; and 3) Enter "(NULL)" to search for null strings. Note that some databases do not support null strings and will not return a result for them.

Filter the Data

You can click Filter to filter the rows and fields that are displayed in the data viewer. You can use the Filters dialog to perform the following tasks:

• Click Sample to configure the sample data that is displayed in the data viewer. By default, the Maximum rows field is enabled with a value of 500 rows. The value that you set here determines the sample size for the currently selected table.

Note: You can change this setting globally in the Default max rows field in the DataFlux Data Management Studio Options dialog at Tools > Options > DataViewer. The value that you set in the Options dialog determines the sample size for all tables when they are displayed in the Data Viewer tab.

• Click Row Filter to configure how rows in the selected table are filtered. You can exclude or include values from any row in the table.
• Click Field Filter to configure how fields in the selected table are filtered. You can select the fields that are displayed in the data viewer.

Note that the SELECT statement generated by each filter is displayed at the bottom of each filter tab.

Sort the Data

You can click Sort to access the Sort dialog. Then, you can use the dialog to set the sort fields, order, and direction in the data viewer. You can use Shift-click on consecutive column headers to add additional columns to the sort criteria.

Save as an SQL Query

You can click Save as SQL Query to access the Save Query dialog. Then, you can use the dialog to name the query and select a save location for it.

Profile the Table

You can click Open Profile Report to view an existing profile that includes the selected table. You can also click New Profile Report to access the New Profile dialog. Then, you can use the dialog to name the profile and select a save location for it. You can also see a list of existing profiles.

Open the Report Pane

You can click Open report pane to display the report pane for a selected field. Then, you can perform the following tasks:

• Click Count to display counts of the field values. You can set options such as granularity, box plots, sorts, and discrete values. The options vary according to data type.
• Click Length to display the lengths of the field values. You can set options such as granularity and box plots. The options vary according to data type.
• Click Report to display sorted and summarized reports for a field. You can also group numeric values and display them discretely. Finally, you can click the drop-down menu in the Statistic field in the Report tab to select from the following statistics: count, mean, median, sum, and no summarization.

Note: You can set options for the data viewer in the DataViewer section of the Data Management Studio Options dialog. You can access this dialog from the Tools menu.