Using worksheets for queries / DML / DDL¶

Features overview¶

1. Object browser.

2. Add a worksheet.

3. Drop-down menu:

   • Manage worksheets (search, open or delete, rename).

   • Open a tutorial.

   • Load a script.

4. Drop-down menu:

   • Change the current database, schema, or warehouse for the current worksheet without losing your work.

   • Resume/suspend or resize your current warehouse.

5. Drop-down menu:

   • Load a script.

   • Enable or disable text highlighting.

   • Show/hide Run confirmation.

   • Delete the current worksheet.

6. SQL editor.

7. Download results.

8. Copy results to clipboard.

9. Maximize or restore results.

10. Hide or show columns.

Worksheets are designed to meet all your business and workflow needs, including:

• Running ad hoc queries and performing other SQL operations.

• Opening multiple, concurrent worksheets, each with its own separate session, allowing you to run queries in different worksheets with different contexts without any degradation in performance.

• Saving a worksheet for later use.

• Opening a worksheet from your library of saved worksheets.

  Note

  • Saved worksheets are not accessible outside of the Classic Console.

  • Saved worksheets cannot currently be shared with other users.

• Loading SQL script files from your workstation or network into a worksheet. After you’ve loaded a script file, you can optionally edit and save it to your saved worksheet library.

• Logging out without losing your work. Snowflake retains the static contents of each worksheet, so you can log in again later and resume working where you left off. Snowflake displays the worksheets that were open when you logged out.

  Resized or collapsed panes, width changes to the result and data preview columns, and the cursor position in the SQL editor, persist:

  • When switching between open worksheets.

  • When closing and reopening the same worksheet.

  • Between user sessions.

• Specifying a different role for each worksheet and switching roles without losing your work. You can execute specific statements in a worksheet, then switch roles before continuing your work in the same worksheet.

  Note

  Your current interface role determines the default role for worksheets that you open, but the worksheets are not tied to the interface role. Each worksheet has its own role that can be set independently.

• Logging into Snowflake in another browser or tab. Any worksheet changes you made in one Snowflake instance persist to the other instance after a few minutes. You can continue working in the other browser (or tab) without re-entering your work.

• Refreshing your browser, if necessary. If you’re in the middle of running queries, they resume running when the refresh is completed. If you log out of Snowflake, any active queries stop running.

You can also perform other tasks on this page, including:

• Resizing the current warehouse to dynamically increase or decrease the compute resources utilized for executing your queries and other DML statements.

• Exporting the result for a selected query/statement (if the result is still available). For more information, see Exporting Query Results.

Save and manage worksheets¶

Snowflake automatically saves worksheets as you type and persists the current state of a worksheet between user sessions. To organize your worksheets, double-click the worksheet label in the tab (for example, Worksheet 2) and type a new, more meaningful name for the worksheet (for example, Sales Analysis).

To open a closed worksheet, click the down-arrow to the right of the open worksheet tabs, and click Open Worksheet.

1. Search for worksheets by label.

2. Delete selected worksheets.

3. Click on a row to select a single worksheet.

   Press the CMD (Mac) or CTRL (Windows) key once and then click on multiple rows to select multiple worksheets.

4. Double-click a label to edit it.

5. Open selected worksheets.

The Open Worksheet dialog supports the following actions:

Use the object browser¶

1. Preview table data.

2. Double-click to insert name into SQL editor.

The object browser enables users to explore all databases, schemas, tables, and views accessible by the role selected for a worksheet.

The list of databases and other objects refreshes automatically when the worksheet context is changed. You can also select Refresh at the top of the object browser to view object changes immediately.

The object browser can be collapsed at any time to make more room for the SQL editor and results/history panes.

Manage warehouses¶

Click the context menu to select a different active warehouse for the worksheet. You can resume or suspend the selected warehouse, or resize the warehouse.

Manage queries¶

View query details¶

When a query is executed, a status bar displays the current total query duration. Hover over the bar to see a breakdown of the duration.

1. Hover over to view query metrics. Click the Query ID link to explore query details. A popup provides links to copy the query ID to your operating system’s temporary memory or to navigate to the query history.

   

2. Click to copy the query ID.

3. Click to navigate to the query history.

Use keyboard shortcuts to format queries¶

The SQL editor in a worksheet supports the following keyboard keys and key combinations for formatting your queries and other SQL statements:

Tab Stops:

To insert a tab stop in a line (in 4 character intervals), use the Tab key:

• If the cursor is at the beginning of the line, 4 blank spaces are inserted.

• If the cursor is in the line, enough blank spaces are added to reach the next tab stop.

Indents/Outdents:

To indent/outdent a line (or multiple lines) two blank spaces, place the cursor anywhere in the line (or highlight the desired lines), hold down the CMD (Mac) or CTRL (Windows) key and type one or more:

• Right square brackets, ], to indent the line(s) the number of brackets typed.

• Left square brackets, [ , to outdent the line(s) the number of brackets typed.

If a line is indented, all new lines after the indented line are automatically indented the same number of blank spaces.

Comments:

To comment out a line (or multiple lines), place the cursor anywhere in the line (or highlight the desired lines), hold down the CMD (Mac) or CTRL (Windows) key and type a forward slash, /.

Text Highlighting:

To enable or disable text highlighting in all open worksheets, place the cursor anywhere in a worksheet, hold down the SHIFT + CMD (Mac) or SHIFT + CTRL (Windows) keys and type the letter K.

Add Multiple Cursors:

To add multiple cursors in the same worksheet, hold down the CMD (Mac) or CTRL (Windows) key and click in each new location with the left mouse button or the touchpad.

Select Text Area:

To select a text area, hold down the option (Mac) or ALT (Windows) key. The cursor turns into a crosshair. Click and drag using the left mouse button or the touchpad.

Find and Replace Text Strings:

To search for and replace a text string in a worksheet:

1. Hold down the CMD + option + F (Mac) or SHIFT + CTRL + F (Windows) keys. A Replace field displays.

   To replace all instances of a text string, hold down the CMD + option + SHIFT + F (Mac) or ALT + CTRL + SHIFT + F (Windows) keys. A Replace All field displays.

2. Type the string to replace, and press the Enter key. A With field displays.

3. Type the replacement string, and press the Enter key. A set of options displays.

4. Click the desired option:

   Yes:

   Replace the current instance of the string with the specified replacement and advance to the next instance.

   No:

   Retain the current instance of the string and advance to the next instance.

   All:

   Replace all instances of the string with the specified replacement.

   Stop:

   Stop searching for instances of the string.

Back up your worksheets¶

Snowflake recommends that you back up complex or crucial worksheets that would be difficult to recreate. Copy and paste the contents of individual worksheets into files that you can safeguard. Backing up your worksheets prevents them from accidental deletion.

Worksheet metadata is stored in the Snowflake user stage, in the worksheet_data directory. Executing the REMOVE command and removing the worksheet_data directory deletes your own worksheets. Deleted worksheets cannot be restored.