Searching across tables

Data Search answers the question "where is this value stored?" — it looks for a string across many tables at once, which is how you find the one table holding a customer reference in a schema you did not design.

Running a search

1. Click Search in the toolbar.
2. Choose the tables to search. All and None select and clear the list in one click.
3. Type the text and press Enter, or click 🔍 Search.

While it runs, NabuSQL shows which tables have been searched so far. The summary reports how many results were found, in how many tables.

Text columns only

The search covers varchar and text columns. Numeric, date, boolean and binary columns are not scanned — searching for 1500 will not find it in an amount column.

Reading the results

Results are grouped by table, with the matching rows underneath. Errors on individual tables — a permission problem, say — are reported next to that table instead of stopping the run.

When to use something else

• Finding a value in one known table — open the table and use the data grid filter. Much faster.
• Finding a column or table by name — use the search box above the sidebar tree.
• Searching numeric or date columns — write the query in the SQL editor; a WHERE amount = 1500 across a couple of candidate tables beats a scan of everything.

Performance

Every selected table is queried. On a large schema, narrow the table list first — searching 200 tables to find something you know lives in one of five is time spent for nothing.