The SQL Developer window generally uses the left side for navigation to find and select objects, and the right side to display information about selected objects.

Figure 2-1 shows the main window.

The menus at the top contain standard entries, plus entries for features specific to SQL Developer as shown in the following figure.

Description of the illustration ui_top.gif

You can use shortcut keys to access menus and menu items: for example Alt+F for the File menu and Alt+E for the Edit menu; or Alt+H, then Alt+S for Help, then Search. You can also display the File menu by pressing the F10 key (except in the SQL Worksheet, where F10 is the shortcut for Explain Plan).

To close a window that has focus (such as the SQL Developer main window, a wizard or dialog box, or the Help Center) and any of its dependent windows, you can press Alt+F4.

The main toolbar (under the menus) contains Icons to perform various actions, which by default include the following:

• New creates a database object.
• Open opens a file.
• Save saves any changes to the currently selected object.
• Save All saves any changes to all open objects.
• Back moves to the pane that you most recently visited. (Or use the drop-down arrow to specify a tab view.)
• Forward moves to the pane after the current one in the list of visited panes. (Or use the drop-down arrow to specify a tab view.)
• Open SQL Worksheet opens the SQL Worksheet. If you do not use the drop-down arrow to specify the database connection to use, you are asked to select a connection.

However, you can add and remove main toolbar icons by clicking View, Show Toolbars, Customize Main Toolbar, then choosing desired options. To undo any main toolbar customization, select Reset Toolbars.

The left side of the SQL Developer window has panes for the Connections and Reports navigators (any other navigators that you might open), icons for performing actions, and a hierarchical tree display for the currently selected navigator, as shown in the following figure.

Description of the illustration ui_left.gif

The Connections navigator lists database connections that have been created. To create a new database connection, import an XML file with connection definitions, or export or edit current connections, right-click the Connections node and select the appropriate menu item.

The Files navigator (marked by a folder icon; not shown in the preceding figure) displays your local file system using a standard hierarchy of folders and files. You can double-click or drag and drop files to open them, and you can edit and save the files. For example, if you open a .sql file, it is displayed in a SQL Worksheet window. The Files navigator is especially useful if you are using versioning with SQL Developer.

The Reports navigator (not shown in the preceding figure) lists informative reports provided by SQL Developer, such as a list of tables without primary keys for each database connection, as well as any user-defined reports.

Icons above the Connections node and metadata tree perform the following actions on the currently selected object:

• Refresh queries the database for the current details about the selected object (for example, a connection or just a table).
• Apply Filter restricts the display of objects using a filter that you specify. For example, you can right-click the Tables node and specify a filter of EM% to see only tables that start with EM and to have the Tables node label be changed to Tables (EM%). To remove the effects of applying a filter, right-click the node and select Clear Filter.Note that for tables, the initial default node label is Tables (Filtered), to reflect the exclusion of tables that are in the Recycle Bin. To have such tables included in the display, clear the filter.

The metadata tree in the Connections pane displays all the objects (categorized by object type) accessible to the defined connections. To select an object, expand the appropriate tree node or nodes, then click the object.

The right side of the SQL Developer window has tabs and panes for objects that you select or open, as shown in the following figure, which displays information about a table named EMPLOYEES. (If you hold the mouse pointer over the tab label -- EMPLOYEES in this figure -- a tooltip displays the object's owner and the database connection.)

Description of the illustration ui_right.gif

For objects other than subprograms, icons provide the following options:

• Freeze View (the pin) keeps that object's tab and information in the window when you click another object in the Connections navigator; a separate tab and display are created for that other object. If you click the pin again, the object's display is available for reuse.
• Edit displays a dialog box for editing the object.
• Refresh updates the display by querying the database for the latest information.
• Actions displays a menu with actions appropriate for the object. The actions are the same as when you right-click an object of that type in the Connections navigator, except the Actions menu does not include Edit.

To switch among objects, click the desired tabs; to close a tab, click the X in the tab. If you make changes to an object and click the X, you are asked if you want to save the changes.

For tables and views, this information is grouped under tabs, which are labeled near the top. For example, for tables the tabs are Columns, Data (for seeing and modifying the data itself), Indexes, Constraints, and so on; and you can click a column heading under a tab to sort the grid rows by the values in that column. For most objects, the tabs include SQL, which displays the SQL statement for creating the object.

You can export (unload) data from a detail pane or from the results of a SQL Worksheet operation or a report by using the context menu and selecting Export.

The Messages - Log area is used for feedback information as appropriate (for example, results of an action, or error or warning messages). If this area is not already visible, you can display it by clicking View and then Log.

The Compiler - Log area is used for any messages displayed as a result of a Compile or Compile for Debug operation.

The Utilities - Log area is used for displaying the operations that are run for database import, export, or copy.