Using the Grid

The following function can be done with the grid.

Context Menus

The grid has a number of context (right-click) menus.

• right-clicking the grid will show you a number of functions that can be performed on the grid
• once you have selected a range of cells, you will get a slightly different menu with the functions relevant for a range of cells
• right-clicking a column header gives you the functions for manipulating columns
• right-clicking a row number (if you are displaying row numbers) gives you the functions for manipulating rows

Many of these functions are also available with the View and Grid menu items.

Note: when you right-click a row number, the options will apply to the current row (the one with the row pointer in the row number column), NOT the row the mouse was over when you did the right click. It is generally a good idea to left-click a row (to select it) before right-clicking it.

Sorting the data

• You can sort the contents of the grid by clicking on the column header.
• This sorts only the data that is in the grid. It does not sort the entire table. If you want to sort the table, include an ORDER BY clause in your SQL statement.
• As you click on the header the sort-order switched between Sort Ascending, Sort Descending and No Sort (so the grid returns to its original order).
• If you wish to sort by multiple columns, click on the Layout button to go to the Data Layout window. Select the Sort Order (Asc/Desc) for the columns

Selecting Data

You can select cells in a number of ways:

• click on a cell, hold down the Shift key, then click on a second cell. All cells between these two cells will be selected.
• use drag-select. Click on a cell than drag-over other cells; as you do so these cells will be selected. Drag-select can be enabled / disabled with Options > Display Options > Enable drag-select.
• to select an entire column, click on a cell, right-click and select Select Column
• to select an entire row, click on the row number on the left. Alternatively, click on a cell, right-click and select Select Row
• you can select all cells with Ctrl+A

As you select the cells, information about the range of cells you have selected will appear on the status bar at the bottom of the window.

If your selection contains any numeric they will be summed; the total will be displayed in the status bar at the bottom of the window.

Copying Data

To copy some cells (to the Windows clipboard), select the cells (as described in the previous section), then either hit Ctrl+C, click on Edit > Copy, or use the copy icon.

If you are copying more than one cell, you will be prompted for a number of copy options. These are discussed in more detail in Hints on Grid Usage.

Changing the Order of Columns

You can change the position of a column in the grid by clicking on the column header and dragging it to a new location.

Alternatively, click on the Layout button to go to the Data Layout window. You can use the Move buttons to change the order of the columns.

Hiding Columns

• You can hide columns from the display by right-clicking the grid and selecting Hide Column.
• Alternatively, you can click on the Layout button to go to the Data Layout window. You can hide / unhide columns with the Hidden checkbox.
• You can undo the last column-hide with View > Undo Last Hide Column (Ctrl+U). You can undo all column-hides with View > Undo All Hide Columns.
• You can automatically hide columns that contain values which are all null. This is done with View > Hide all Null columns (Ctrl+N).
• You can automatically hide columns that contain some other value with View > Hide all columns where...

  You can specify multiple values separated by a semicolon. So if you speficy a value of null;0;Y; then AQT will hide the column if all values are either Null, 0 or Y. Use <b> to specify the value being blank.

  The Hide all columns where value is saved between AQT sessions.

As you move or hide columns the underlying query is amended for the new column order. This therefore provides a very easy way to build a simple query.

Finding Columns

If you have a lot of columns in your grid, you can go to a particular column with Grid > Find Column (Ctrl + Shift +F).

AQT will move the grid to the first column that contains the string you specify. Ctrl + Shift + F3 will "re-find" - eg. move to the next column containing the search string.

Fixing Columns

You can "fix" a column - the column will be placed on the left side of the window and will not move when the grid is scrolled left / right.

You can fix a column in a number of ways:

• right-clicking the column and selecting Fix Column.
• if the Fixed-Column Splitter is displayed (see Display appearance) then you can fix columns quickly by dragging the splitter to the right (as shown below).
• dragging a column left into the fixed-column area

You can un-fix a column by:

• right-clicking the column and de-selecting Fix Column.
• dragging the Fixed-Column Splitter left to exclude the column
• dragging the column out of the fixed-column area.

If you can also Fix / UnFix columns by clicking on the Layout button and using the Fixed option for the column.

Hiding Rows

You can hide a row (or a range of rows) by:

• clicking a row (so it is the current row) or selecting a range of rows
• right-clicking the row number and selecting Hide Row
• alternatively you can click on Grid > Hide Row

Rows can also be hidden using the Find function with the "Only show rows that match" option. When this is done, all rows are hidden except for the rows that meet the specified condition.

You can re-display the rows by right-clicking and selecting UnHide All Rows, Grid > UnHide all Rows or Find > UnHide all Rows.

Highlighting Rows

You can highlight a row; when this is done the row background is changed to yellow (or other color as specified in Options > Grid Appearance). This makes it easy to read a row you are interested in. You can highlight any number of rows.

Highlighting of rows is done by:

• clicking a row (so it is the current row)
• right-clicking the row number and selecting Highlight Row
• alternatively you can use Grid > Highlight Current Row.
• you can unhighlight using similar menu options.