Compose Toolbar

The Compose toolbar has changed over time. See below for 2021.4 and earlier.

2022.1 and Up

Compose has three toolbars at the top of the screen.

• Top toolbar

• Middle toolbar

• Bottom toolbar

Top Toolbar

1. Alation logo. Click to return to your Alation Catalog.

2. Compose menu. Here you can start a new query, open an existing query, open a new Compose window, or close all tabs.

3. Tab navigation. Click the arrows to activate the next tab to the left or right. Click the three dots to select from a list of all open tabs.

4. Query tabs. Click a tab to activate it. Double click to rename the query. Hover over a tab and click the X to close the tab.

5. New tab button. Click the plus button to start a query in a new tab.

6. Settings. Click to open the Compose Settings page.

7. Help. Click the Help button to:

   1. Open the Alation documentation site

   2. Learn about keyboard shortcuts

   3. View release notes

   4. Start the Alation quick tour

Middle Toolbar

1. Hamburger menu. Click here to show or hide the data browser sidebar.

2. Query name. Click the text to rename it. (To add a description, click Description in the Results Toolbar.)

3. Data source. The name of the data source you are querying.

4. Schema. The name of the schema in the database you are querying. If there’s more than one schema in the database, click the schema name to choose another schema.

5. Connection Settings. Click to add, edit, or remove connection URIs and user credentials. For more detail, see:

   • 2022.1 and up: Working with Data Source Connections

   • 2021.4 and earlier: Switch and Remove Data Source Accounts

6. Active connection info. Hover over the information icon to see the current connection setting for this query.

7. Save status. Queries are saved automatically anytime you stop typing for five seconds. During this five second window, you’ll see a Save Now link you can click. Once the query is saved, it changes to read All Edits Saved. You can click All Edits Saved to see the query’s version history.

Bottom Toolbar

When the screen gets narrow enough, most of the button names become icons.

1. Edit button. Find, Replace, Go to line, Undo, and Redo.

2. Format button. Format your query in one click, apply indentation, change case, or toggle comments.

3. Embed button. Find and embed previously saved SQL code.

4. Insert Date button. Select a date from the calendar and insert it into your code.

5. Explain button. Explain runs the explain function of the connected database for information about how it will execute the SQL. Highlight a part of your code and click Explain to learn about that section. If you click without highlighting, Explain will run on the statement where your cursor is.

6. Run button. Click to execute your query. Learn more about run options.

7. Export button. Run and export your query results. Learn more about export options.

8. Cancel button. Stop your query from running after it is already in progress.

9. Schedule button. Click to schedule a query. Learn more about scheduling.

10. Publish button. Publish your query in the Catalog. Learn more about publishing your query.

11. Share button (versions 2022.4 or earlier)

    Sharing & Access button (versions 2023.1 and later)

    Click to share your query, turn it into a form, or create an Excel Live Report. In version 2023.1 and later, the button is only visible if you have edit or owner access to the query.

12. More button. Click to access the query’s version history, configure access, clone the query, or delete the query.

Much of the above functionality also has keyboard shortcuts.

2021.4 and Earlier

(*) Click to return to your Alation Catalog.

1. Query tabs. Drag to reorder them or double click a tab to view it.

2. Click to toggle SmartSuggest on and off or navigate to the Compose Settings page.

3. If you made it here, you have likely found this one already! Click the Help button to visit this knowledge base .

4. Traditional selection of word processing edit tools with keyboard shortcuts.

5. Format your query in one click or highlight sections to apply formatting options.

6. Embed previously saved SQL code. Use the search bar to find any user’s saved query. Click Return to insert the code in your workspace.

7. Select a date from the calendar and insert it into your code.

8. Explain runs the explain function of the connected database for information about how it will execute the SQL. Highlight a part of your code and click Explain to learn about that section. If you click without highlighting, Explain will run on the statement where your cursor is.

9. Click to run the entirety of your code. Learn more about run options here .

10. Run and export your query results. Learn more about export options here.

11. Stop your query from running After it is already in progress.

12. The name of your query. Double-click the text to rename it.

13. The name of the data source you are querying.

14. The name of the schema in the database you are querying.

15. The URI you will use to execute your query.

16. Click to add an alternative database URI. Learn more about adding DB connections here.

17. Click to schedule a query. Learn more about scheduling here .

18. Click to save a query. You can Save or Save as which will duplicate the query. When you save your query the first time, you can provide a Title and Description for your query. If you choose to write a description for your query at a later date, you need click Description in the Results Toolbar

19. Publish your query in Catalog. Learn more about publishing your query here.

20. Click to share your query.

21. Delete your query.

When you are not full screen, you will see the following. Functionality remains the same; however, instead of words, most buttons will display only their corresponding icons.

Additionally, keyboard shortcuts exist for much of the above functionality.