More about Favorites

Favorites File

The information on Favorites is held in file fav<dbname>.txt, where <dbname> is the name of your ODBC Datasource.

The Favorites files are held in the directory specified as the Default Directory for files created by AQT. If you change this directory, you should move the fav*.txt files to the new directory else they will not be found by AQT.

By default, Default Directory for files created by AQT is your AQT install directory. If you have restricted authority on your Windows system, you may not be able to create any Favorites files. In this case, change Default Directory for files created by AQT to a directory into which you are able to write files.

Layout of the Favorites and Export Files

The information in the Favorites file is held in the following format. The same format is used for Favorites Export files:

For folders:

type=node;folder=folder-name;dbs=database-name;

For objects:

type=obj;folder=folder-name;dbs=database-name;name=object-name;objtype=object-type;desc=object-description;schemaid=schema_id;objid=object_id;objid2=object_id2;

Where:

• database-name is the SQL Server / Sybase database name this entry applies to.
• folder-name is the folder the object is located in. This is a full path name for the folder. The top-level folder of the Favorites hierarchy is db - the first level down is db\Customer Tables etc.

  For nodes, folder is the folder name itself.

• object-type is the type of object. T for tables, V for views etc. The cfg file for the database gives the object-types for the database.
• object-name is the name of the object
• object-description is the description of the object.
• schema-id, object-id, object-id2. For some databases (in particular SQL Server and Sybase), objects are identified by internal object identifiers, rather than by object names. Within the Database Explorer, these object-ids are held in hidden columns. These object-ids need to be stored in the Favorites file.

  For some databases, these values can take a spurious value. These can be ignored.

• isschema, query, schema, showpref. These values are used when you have defined a Schema as a favorite. They should not be changed.

Manually Adding Entries to Favorites File

You can manually add entries to the Favorites, or have entries generated automatically out of your database. If you do so, it is your responsibility not to create duplicate objects, and not to create objects in non-existent folders.

Another option is to generate an Export file and use the Import function of Organize Favorites. When these entries are imported, AQT will check that they are valid.

Deleting an Object from Favorites

This can be done in two ways:

• when you are displaying favorites in the Database Explorer, go Favorites > Delete from Favorites (or Ctrl+Shift+F2).
• use Organize Favorites

Dropped Objects

If you drop an object, it will still be shown in Favorites. When you attempt to display the Object Details, nothing will display. You will need to manually remove the object from Favorites.

Objects which are Dropped / Redefined

For some databases, objects are referenced by an internal object-id rather than the object name. This comment applies to:

• most objects for SQL Server and Sybase
• DB2 Stored Procedures and Functions

The object-id is used throughout the system queries that populate the Object Details display. The object-id is held as part of the information on the object in the Favorites file.

If the object is dropped/redefined, it is generally given a new object-id. When you display the object in the Favorites display, AQT will not be able to display any information on it.

The only solution to this is to delete the object from Favorites, then add it again.

Using Administration functions

Some administration functions (such as Drop Table, Rename Table) show you a list of your objects to be processed. When you invoke this function while displaying favorites, AQT has a choice of whether to show you:

• the objects which are in your favorites (eg. the same as the list you currently see in the middle grid in the Database Explorer)
• all your objects within the selected schema

AQT will do one of these, depending on which is sensible for the function being performed. As a rule, the first option will be done for simple functions (such as Drop table). For more complex functions, the second option will be adopted.