The Query Builder is used to create lists of data that may be exported for analysis. Unlike the view manager there is no inter-activity with the system, this is a method for retrieving data only.
The Query Builder is broken into sections (using tabs) to help in the construction of the Query.
The first tab is for selecting what data you wish to include in the Result. (E.g. if you were interested in Assets then you would select Assets and probably Asset Types, or If you also wanted Actions then you would select the Actions entry as well.)
The second tab configures the fields that will be displayed in the resulting list. The fields that are available are form the Data views that were selected in the First tab i.e. if Assets was selected then all the Fields from the Assets table will be available to be selected.
The Third tab configures the Criteria for this query. Creating Criteria is explained in the relevant Creating Filters and Filtering sections.
Once the Views, Fields and Criteria tabs have been configured the Query is ready to be Run. The result will look similar to an excel sheet or an access table and can be copied to such. Alternatively it can be exported as a csv file or Emailed in various formats.
When configuring the chosen fields the Attribute Set and/or Action Categories selectors can be used to further filter the resulting list by these criteria. The benefit of this is that the user configured labels for the User fields will be shown in the field lists. It can make the result more user friendly if the heading are length, width etc rather than dimension1, usernumber1 etc. Note that by selecting a Attribute Set or Action Category the Result is automatically restricted to Assets/Actions that match that choice no matter what other criteria is additionally configured.
•The SQL Tab is normally read-only but can be edited by Administrators. This tab shows the SQL (Structured Query Language) that is used by the database system to extract your data. An Administrator who has experience with this language can edit this in any fashion they desire BUT please note you are directly editing the Conquest Data so be careful. (Please contact Conquest Solutions before you use this feature or you are unsure of the ramifications.) There will occasionally be times where the Conquest Help Centre may ask you to run some SQL on your database to perhaps fix some errors, this is done here.
Some typical uses for this function.
•It can be very useful when doing Data audits as it presents your data in a spreadsheet style which helps in identifying missing or erroneous data.
•When Updating data in Conquest the Query building is very useful in extracting the current data (with Asset or Action ID’s), exporting to Excel and then editing in preparation to load back in using the Update Assets or Update Actions Function.