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Introduction
DbVisualizer is a feature rich, intuitive multi-database tool for
developers and database administrators, providing a single powerful
interface across a wide variety of operating systems. With its
easy-to-use and clean interface, DbVisualizer has proven to be one of
the
most cost effective database tools available, yet to mention that it
runs on all major operating systems and supports all major RDBMS that
are available. Users only need to learn and master one application.
DbVisualizer integrates transparently with the operating system being
used.
This document gives a overview, installation tips and general
information about the product.
Note: All
documents in the Users Guide are primarily focusing on the DbVisualizer
Personal edition. Some of the described features are not available in the Free edition.
The screenshots throughout the users guide are produced on Windows XP
using the Windows Look and Feel, but DbVisualizer lets you choose among other Look and Feels as well.
Installing
Installing DbVisualizer is no different then installing other modern
products. The standard installation
procedure is performed using a graphical application, and you just need
to click through the questions that are displayed. Follow the instructions
at the DbVisualizer web site if you need information on how to start the
installation
procedure specifically for your platform.
Installation
structure
The installer and launcher for DbVisualizer is based on the install4jTM product (http://www.install4j.com).
The structure of the installation directory (referred as DBVIS-HOME
throughout the users guide) contains the following.
(The exact content may differ between platforms):
.install4j/
doc/
lib/
resources/
wrapper/
dbvis.vmoptions
dbvis.exe
README.txt
uninstall.exe
The dbvis.exe file
is used to start DbVisualizer. The remaining files and directories are
only of interest if you need to do nonstandard customization. For
information on how to increase
the memory for the Java process that runs DbVisualizer, and also on how
to
modify the Java version being used, please read the on-line FAQ
for the latest information.
Java
Properties
DbVisualizer utilizes a few Java properties that you can use to modify
characteristics of the application. These DbVisualizer specific
properties are available in the DBVIS-HOME/resources/dbvis-custom.prefs
file.
Note: You
rarely need to modify these properties, as the default values are
sufficient for most usage.
The following are the properties handled by DbVisualizer:
Property
|
Description
|
dbvis.driver.ignore.dir=lib:resources:.install4j
|
Specify directories
from
DBVIS-HOME that should not be listed in the Driver Manager "System
Classpath" list. Directories are separated with ":".
Accepted values:
one or several directory names starting from DBVIS-HOME.
|
| dbvis.grid.encode=false |
Specifies if
encoding of data in
result set grids will be performed or not. If set to true then make
sure the dbvis.grid.fromEncode
and/or dbvis.grid.toEncode
are also set.
|
| dbvis.grid.fromEncode=ISO8859_1 |
Encoding used when
translating
text data that is fetched from the database
|
| dbvis.grid.toEncode=GBK |
Encoding used when
translating
data that will appear in the result set grid
|
| dbvis.usegetobject=false |
Specifies if the
generic
ResultSet.getObject() method in JDBC will be used in favor of the data
type specific get methods or not. Default is false.
|
dbvis.savedatacolumns=false
|
Column layout
changes such as
reordering and/or visibility are saved for all grids in the Objects
Views *except* for the "Data" grid. This property can be used to also
include the layout in the "Data" grid. Note: This will result in
DbVisualizer
saving the layout for each table that is displayed in the Data grid =
huge XML file...
|
dbvis.disabledataedit=false
|
Specifies if table
data
editing should be completely disabled, i.e. the form and inline
editors. Note: This only has an effect when used with a licensed
edition.
|
| dbvis.showactionresult=false |
This defines whether the result for all actions should
be displayed or only failures (default). |
Note: These properties may change in future
versions of DbVisualizer. Some are also
experimental and may be removed or instead introduced in the
DbVisualizer GUI.
Install
license key for DbVisualizer Personal
If you have a license key file for DbVisualizer Personal, then start
DbVisualizer and open the Help->License
Key window. Enter the name of the license file in the License Key File
field, or launch the file chooser by pressing the "..." button to the
right of the license file field. Once the file is loaded, press the Install License
button.
Uninstalling
the license key
If you ever need to uninstall the license key, you can do so by removing (or renaming) the following file:
Operating System
|
File
Name |
Windows
|
C:\Documents and
Settings\<user>\.dbvis\dbvis.license |
| UNIX/Linux |
/home/<user>/.dbvis/dbvis.license |
| Mac OS X |
/Users/<user>/.dbvis/dbvis.license |
Useful
Resources
Resources related to DbVisualizer that are useful:
- The home of DbVisualizer
- The FAQ
which is
regularly updated with frequently asked questions and known problems
- The User
Guide
- The Databases
and JDBC Drivers online page. This page gives information
about supported databases and JDBC drivers
- The Minq forums
- The online problem
report
form. This is the recommended channel for product support and general
questions
Starting
DbVisualizer
How to start DbVisualizer depends on the operating system you are using.
- Windows
Locate the DbVisualizer submenu in the Start menu. Select
the DbVisualizer
entry in that menu
- Linux/Unix
Open a shell and change directory to the DbVisualizer
installation directory. Execute the dbvis
program
- Mac OS X
Double click on the DbVisualizer
application or DbVisualizer.app
application bundle.
Command
line arguments
DbVisualizer supports a range of command line arguments. These are
listed in the Help->About
menu choice, under the Command
Line tab, in DbVisualizer.
Usage: dbvis [-help] [-up
<path>] [-sqlfile <path>]
[-windowtitle <title>]
[connect options] [remote options]
General Options:
-help
Display this help
-up <path>
Use an alternate user preferences file
-sqlfile <path>
Load file into the SQL Commander editor
-encoding <encoding> Optional encoding for
loaded file
-windowtitle <title> Additional window title
-execute
Will execute SQL file automatically
-invisible
No windows will be displayed
Driver Connect Options:
-driver Setup and connect using the following Driver options:
-alias <name>
Database alias
-drivername <name> Driver name
-path <path>
Path to driver class
-class <class>
JDBC Driver class
-url <url>
Connection URL
-userid <user>
Userid to connect as
-password <pw>
Connect password
JNDI Connect Options:
-jndi Setup and connect using the following JNDI options:
-alias <name>
Database alias
-drivername <name> Driver name
-path <path>
Path to initial context class
-class <class>
Initial context class
-url <url>
Provider URL
-lookup <name>
Lookup name
-userid <user>
Userid to connect as
-password <pw>
Connect password
Remote Options:
-attachremote Attach to remote DbVisualizer instance
-enableremote Enable remote attachment
-host <host> Remote host name
(default: localhost)
-port <port> Remote port (default:
8787) |
The
Main Window and Common Components
As you can see in the in the screenshot below, the DbVisualizer
interface has a Database Objects Tree to the left and two tabs
to the right.
Database Objects Tree
This tree keeps (at the top level) all the Database Connection
objects (or
folder objects, used to organize Database Connections).
Use this tree to navigate and explore the database. Clicking on an
object will change
the view in the Object
View tab to show details about the selected
object.
Object View
This tab shows detailed
information
about the object represented by the selected tree node. The content of
the Object View tab depends on the type of the selected object.
SQL Commander
The SQL Commander lets you
execute any SQL statements and scripts.
Figure: The
DbVisualizer main window
Standard
Components in the User Interface
The following sections introduce generic features and components that
you find in many parts of DbVisualizer.
Grid,
Graph and Chart
Grid, graph and chart are three terms that are often used in the
application and in the documentation. The following screenshots show what they
represent.
Figure: The grid, graph and
chart terms
Note: The
documentation uses the term grid
for the user interface component that represents tabular data, rather
than table,
to avoid confusion with a database table.
Context Sensitive
Components
All components in the user interface (e.g.,
buttons and menu items) are context sensitive. They
are enabled only if they can
be used in the current scope.
Tooltips
Tooltips are used to provide more details about a component.
They are also used to
express status information. An example is the grid
column
header tooltip that shows information about the column. To see a
tooltip, let the mouse hover over an area of the user interface, e.g.,
a button or grid header. If there is a tooltip for the area, it
will pop up in about a second.
Figure: Tooltip
example
Grids
Grids are used heavily in DbVisualizer and require a brief
introduction.
Figure: Grid
overview
The screenshot shows the grid and controls
that are
available for the grid in the Data tab, but the differences are
minor compared to grids used in other places.
Sorting
You can sort the grid based on the values in one or more columns. When
you click on a column header, the grid is sorted in ascending order on
the values in that column, indicated by an up-arrow in the column
header. If you click the same column header again, the grid is sorted
in descending order, indicated by a down-arrow in the column header. If
you click a third time, the data is shown in the order it was received
from the database and the sort indicator disappears.
To sort on more than one column, Ctrl-click (keep the Ctrl key pressed
when clicking) on additional columns. The grid is then sorted on the
values in the first column you clicked on (indicated with a 1 next to
the arrow), and then all rows with the same value in the first column
are sorted on the values in the second sort column (indicated with a 2
next to the arrow), and so on.
Right-click menu
The generic right-click grid menu contains the following operations:
Figure: Grid
right click menu
Menu
Choice
|
Description
|
Select
All
|
Select all cells
(i.e., all rows and
columns) in the grid
|
Select
Row
|
Select all cells
in the row
|
Copy
Selection
|
Copy all selected
cells onto the
system clipboard
|
Copy
Selection (With Column Header)
|
Copy all selected
cells including column header onto the system clipboard
|
Export
|
Copy the export
dialog
|
Export
Selection
|
Export the
selection using the
standard export feature
|
| Print |
Open the print dialog for printing the compete grid |
| Print
Selection |
Open the print dialog for printing just the selected
rows/columns |
| Print
Preview |
Open the print preview dialog |
Save
Selected Cell
|
Save the value of
the selected cell to a file, selected with a file chooser dialog
|
Reload
|
Reload the grid
with data from the database
|
Find
|
Open the find
dialog
|
Browse
Row
in Window
|
Display all data
for the
selected row in a separate window.
Note:
for a read/write grid, this entry is named Edit Row in Window.
|
| Browse
Cell in Window |
Display the cell value in a separate window. This is
especially useful for BLOB/CLOB data.
Note:
for a read/write grid, this entry is named Edit Cell in Window. |
Describe
Data
|
Show detailed
information about the columns in the grid
|
Calculate
Selection
|
Displays some
metrics about the current selection. This is especially useful for
numeric fields. Read more in Calculate
Selection below.
|
The menu may contain additional entries based on the current scope,
e.g., entries for editing cell values for a read/write grid.
Calculate
Selection
The Calculate Selection
feature performs basic calculations on the current selection.
It
is primarily used for selections of cells holding numbers. The
following is
an example of what it shows.
Figure: The calculate
selection popup
Property
|
Description
|
Number
of Cells
|
Shows the number of
cells in the selection. |
Valid
Numbers
|
Lists the number of
valid numbers in the selection. |
Null
Values
|
Shows the total of
null values in the selection. |
Bytes
|
Shows the total
number of bytes in the selection after that the data has been
translated to text |
Sum
|
Shows the total
summary of the selection |
Min
|
Shows the minimum
number in the selection |
Avg
|
Shows the average
value of the selection by doing sum / number of valid numbers |
Max
|
Shows the maximum
number in the selection |
Click the red cross icon, or anywhere in the popup, to
close it.
Column
Visibility
The Column Visibility
dialog controls which columns you want to appear in a grid.
You open the column visibility dialog by
clicking the button above the vertical scrollbar in the grid.
Figure: The Column
Visibility dialog
The Column Visibility dialog shows all columns that are available in
the
grid.
The checkmark in front of a column name indicates that the
column is visible in the grid, while an unchecked box indicates that it
is excluded from the grid. Click the checkmark to change the
visibility of a column. You can change the visibility for all columns
at once using the two visibility buttons in the dialog.
The order of the
columns can also be adjusted in this dialog. Just select a row and use
the Up and Down buttons to
move it up (left in grid) or down (right in grid).
If you want to revert your changes, you can click on the Default Layout
button to reset the grid, i.e., making all column visible and put them in
their default locations.
Note 1:
Modifications of column
visibility, size and order are
saved between invocations of DbVisualizer for all grids in the various Object View tabs except for the Data tab.
Note 2: If
you modify the column visibility in the Data tab, the changes persists
throughout the session. For instance, if you remove the Name column in the
Data tab for the table EMPLOYEE,
the Name
column remains excluded when you reload the table or come back
to the Data tab for
that table later in the same session. You must manually make it visible
again to bring it back. The changes are, however, reset when you
restart the application.
Auto Resize
The column header right-click menu contains a number of options for
automatic resizing of column widths.
Figure: Auto
Resize menu
Menu
Choice
|
Description
|
| All Columns (consider Header) |
Resize all columns to fit the widest cell value, or the column header if it is wider than any cell value |
| All Columns (ignore Header) |
Resize all columns to fit the widest cell value |
| Current Column (consider Header) |
Resize the current column to fit the widest cell value, or the column header if it is wider than any cell value |
| Current Column (ignore Header) |
Resize the current column to fit the widest cell value |
| Default Column Widths |
Set all column widths to their default width |
Quick Filter
All areas that hold a grid in DbVisualizer also provide a Quick Filter field.
Figure: Grid with Quick Filter
When you type in the Quick Filter field, DbVisualizer matches the value
with cell values in the grid and filters out all rows that do not have
a match in at least one cell. The Quick Filter pull-down menu (click on
the down arrow next to the magnifying glass) lets you choose if the
filter should match cells in all columns or just one selected column,
case or case insensitive matching, and where in the cell the value must
match.
Problem
resolution
Even though we make our very best to ensure the quality of
DbVisualizer, you may run into problems of different kinds. The
runtime environment for DbVisualizer is rather complicated when it
comes to tracking the source of a problem, since it's not only
DbVisualizer that may cause the problem but also the JDBC
driver, or even the database engine.
There are a few things that you can try before reporting a problem,
depending on the nature of the problem:
- Make sure you are using the latest version of Java available for your
platform (Java 5 or later).
- Make sure you are using a the version
of the JDBC driver that we've tested DbVisualizer with, or a later,
production quality version.
- Read the DbVisualizer FAQ.
- Check the online Forums.
- Read the DbVisualizer Users
Guide.
If you cannot find a solution to resolve the problem, please do the
following and email us the debug output:
Use the DbVisualizer problem
report form
or email support@dbvis.com.
We
appreciate detailed reports as well as screenshots when possible.
How
to satisfy the DbVisualizer support team
Quite often we get incomplete problem reports and need to follow up for
additional information. If you encounter a problem, please follow these
steps to include the details we need to help you:
- Select the Connection
tab
- In the Connection
Message area, select the right click menu
- In the menu, select Copy
- This copies the system details to the clipboard.
Then paste the
details into an email or in the problem report form.
- In addition, we really appreciate it if you provide us with
screenshots. An image says more then ... you know.
Figure: The connection
message right click menu
Copyright © 2007 Onseven Software AB. All rights reserved.
