Creating a View

This article describes how to create a view.

A view is a stored query accessible as a virtual table composed of the result set of queries. Unlike ordinary tables (base tables) in a relational database, a view is not part of the physical schema: it is a dynamic, virtual table computed or collated from data in the database. Changing the data in a table alters the data shown in the view. The result of a view is stored in a permanent table whereas the result of a query is displayed in a temporary table.

Views provide advantages over tables:

• Views can segment the data contained in a table
• They can join and simplify multiple tables into a single virtual table
• Views can act as aggregated tables, where aggregated data (sum, average etc.) are calculated and presented as part of the data
• Views take very little space to store; only the definition is stored, not a copy of all the data they present
• Views can limit the exposure to which a table or tables are exposed to the outer world

Follow these steps to create a view:

1. Select the Views Tab from the primary toolbar.
2. Select New from the secondary toolbar.
3. Fill-in the Name.
4. Fill-in the Description (optional)
5. Select the Tables from the Unassociated Tables, click the right arrow to move to the Associated Tables
6. Click Submit.
7. Click Columns.
8. Select from the TableColumns dropdown to select fields to display.
9. Fill-in Alias name to display on the view (if left blank, the TableColumn field name will be displayed).
10. Click Add.
11. Click Submit.
12. Select Joins to establish the relationship between the tables selected.
13. In the LeftTableColumn, select a TableColumn of one table.
14. In the RightTableColumn, select a TableColumn of a second table.
15. Click Submit.
16. Select Close.
17. Open the View just created.
18. Highlight the name of the view created.
19. Click Open.
20. A view of the information will display.