Explore table relations window
The Explore table relations window draws the table relations around a table as a graph. Each card is a table, and each arrow stands for one or more table relations from one table to another. You add tables step by step, inbound or outbound, so the graph shows only the part of the data model you are looking at. Use it to see how a table fits into the data model and to find the code that defines a relation.
Opening it
- Right-click a table in the Objects panel and select Explore Table Relations (see the Object context menu).
- In Universal Search, find the table and choose the Explore Table Relations action.
The item is offered on tables only, and your license decides whether it is available. The window opens with the table you started from in the middle and its relations explored in both directions. A table with no table relations but with pages, reports, queries or xmlports that read it opens with Auxiliary objects on; a table with neither opens no window.
| # | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Origin table | The table you started from, marked with a house symbol. See Table cards. |
| 2 | Relation | An arrow from a table to a table it relates to: one or more table relations. Right-click it for the Relation context menu. |
| 3 | Unexplored inbound relations | The number of tables with a relation to this table that are not in the graph yet. Select it to add them. |
| 4 | Unexplored outbound relations | The number of tables this table relates to that are not in the graph yet. Select it to add them. |
| 5 | Show | What the cards show. See Show options. |
| 6 | Layout | Layout algorithm, edge routing and layer direction. See Layout options. |
| 7 | Objects | Shows or hides the Objects panel. Hidden when the window opens. See Objects panel. |
| 8 | Save | Saves the graph as an image. See Save the graph. |
Toolbar
The toolbar floats over the top left of the graph. It is disabled while the graph is laid out.
| # | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Back | Pans back to the table that was centered before you followed a field link. See Table cards. |
| 2 | Forward | Pans forward again after Back. |
| 3 | Show | Opens the Show options. |
| 4 | Layout | Opens the Layout options. |
| 5 | Objects | Shows or hides the Objects panel. |
| 6 | Zoom out | Zooms out of the graph. |
| 7 | Zoom in | Zooms in on the graph. |
| 8 | Fit graph to view | Zooms so that the whole graph fits the window. |
| 9 | Save | Saves the graph to a PNG file. |
Table cards
| # | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kind and name | The object kind, such as TBL, and the table name. The table you started from has a house symbol. |
| 2 | Field list toggle | Shows or hides the card's field list. Cards open with the list hidden. |
| 3 | Unexplored relations | ← with the number of unexplored inbound relations and → with the number of unexplored outbound relations. Select one to add those tables to the graph. Shown while Detailed labels is on. |
| 4 | Field list | The fields that take part in the relations. A dot marks a primary key field. A field whose related table is in the graph is a link: select it to pan to that table, where the related field flashes. The tooltip names the relation, such as Table relation (filtered). A related table that is not in the graph is named in the tooltip with “(not on canvas)”. |
Select a card to select its table, or Shift+select it to add it to the selection or take it out. Right-click a card for the Card context menu. You can drag a card, but the graph is laid out again whenever tables are added or removed, so arrange cards last.
Show options
| # | Option | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Detailed labels | On | Shows the number of unexplored inbound and outbound relations on each card. |
| 2 | Subtitle | Off | Adds a line such as Table 18 under each card's name. |
| 3 | From extensions | Off | Adds the fields that extensions contribute to the field lists, grouped by extension. |
| 4 | Auxiliary objects (pages, reports, queries, xmlports) | Off | Also adds the objects that read each table: pages through their source table, reports and queries through their data items, and xmlports through their table elements. The graph can grow large fast. |
| 5 | Expand all | — | Shows the field list on every card. |
| 6 | Collapse all | — | Hides the field list on every card. |
The options are grouped under Labels, Scope and Fields. A change applies at once and lasts while the window is open.
Layout options
| # | Option | Default | Other choices |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Algorithm | Layered | MDS |
| 2 | Edge routing | Sugiyama splines | Straight line, Spline, Spline bundling, Rectilinear, Rectilinear to center, Smooth curves |
| 3 | Layer direction | Left to right | Right to left, Top to bottom, Bottom to top |
A change lays the graph out again at once. The choices last while the window is open.
Card context menu
Right-click a card. If the card is not selected, it becomes the only selected card first. The items act on the selected tables; only the items that can run are shown, and their text counts what they will add.
Relation context menu
Right-click an arrow between two tables.
Objects panel
Select Objects on the toolbar to show the panel beside the graph. Drag its edge to make it wider or narrower.
| # | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Included | The tables in the graph, with their number on the tab. Selecting tables here selects their cards. Select several with Ctrl or Shift, then right-click to act on them. |
| 2 | Excluded | The tables you excluded, with their number on the tab. They stay out of the graph until you include them again. |
Included tab context menu
On the Excluded tab, right-click the selected tables and select Include n Selected to put them back in the graph.
Choosing related tables
Explore Selected Inbound… and Explore Selected Outbound… open the Select related objects to include in graph window: the related tables not yet in the graph, sorted by id, with the id in each name's tooltip.
| # | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Related tables | Select the tables to add. Select several with Ctrl or Shift. |
| 2 | OK | Adds the selected tables to the graph and highlights them. Enter does the same. |
| 3 | Cancel | Closes the window without adding tables. Esc does the same. |
Find the code behind a relation
- Right-click the arrow between the two tables and select Show Details….
- In the Usages window, select a result to go to the table relation in the workspace window.
Keep the graph readable
Tables that relate to almost everything, such as dimension or number series tables, crowd the graph.
- Select Objects to show the panel.
- On the Included tab, select the tables you do not need, right-click and select Exclude n Selected. To keep only a few, select those and select Exclude n Unselected instead.
- Explore further from the tables that remain. Excluded tables stay out until you include them again from the Excluded tab.
Save the graph
- Select Save on the toolbar.
- In Save graph to image file, choose a folder and a file name, and select Save.
Prism saves the graph as a PNG at twice the screen resolution, and File Explorer opens with the file selected.