Building Statements > Introduction
to the SQL Statement Builder > Parts of the SQL
Statement Builder Building Statements > Introduction
to the SQL Statement Builder > Parts of the SQL
Statement Builder You can begin designing the basic structure of a statement through three tabbed screens: Table Diagram (the canvas), Statement Options, and Parameters.
The Table Diagram tab provides space to select columns and perform table joins. Tables open as a box with the column names stacked. Clicking a column name selects it. There are pins to the sides of each column name. The pins and the column names appear in various colors, depending on their data types and purpose within the statement. For more information on the Table Diagram tabbed screen, see the Extracting Information from a Database section.
The Statement Options tab allows you to:
Enter a description of the statement.
Indicate whether to cache results from a specific query.
Display outer joins.
Set limits on the number of records retrieved.
Indicate whether to omit duplicate records.
Group records together.
The description can be up to 200 characters long, and is stored with the statement. For more information on outer joins, see the Performing Table Joins chapter.
The Parameters tab allows you to check and set default values for parameters for the statement. Include parameters in a statement using the Expression wizard or the Criterion wizard. For more information on parameters, see the Defining Parameters chapter.