How the Visual SQL Query Builder works in 10.1.5 - embedded in Data Explorer, auto-populated schema, no separate connection step.

Technical Reference → Platform Modules Reference → Datasets Module Reference → Datasets Designer UI Reference → Datasets DBs Reference → Visual SQL Query Builder Reference → Visual SQL Query Builder (10.1.5 draft)

10.1.5 preview - work in progress. This page tracks the changes coming in FrameworX 10.1.5. The Visual SQL Query Builder Reference describes the 10.1.4 behavior, which remains correct for current customers. Do not implement against the 10.1.5 model in this page until the release ships.

In 10.1.5 the Visual Query Builder moves from a separate window into the Data Explorer workspace. The schema tree populates automatically from the configured Dataset DB - no Connect button, no second connection string. The visual canvas, column grid, and live SQL preview remain familiar to anyone who used the 10.1.4 builder.

What is new in 10.1.5

  • Embedded inside Data Explorer. The builder lives as a sub-tab of Data Explorer / SQL Queries, alongside Query Execution. No separate window.

  • Auto-populated schema. When you click the Visual Query Builder sub-tab, the schema tree fills automatically from the Dataset DB selected in the parent SQL Queries page. No Connect dialog, no provider picker, no second connection string to maintain.

  • One connection, not two. The 10.1.4 builder asked for its own database connection separate from the Designer's Dataset DBs. In 10.1.5 the builder reads metadata through FrameworX's own data-access layer, so the DB you already configured in Datasets / DBs is the only place a connection is defined.

  • Theme-aware chrome. Builder colors follow the active Designer theme - Light, Dark, and the rest of the FrameworX theme palette - rather than carrying a fixed look.

  • Live SQL preview. The generated SQL appears in a read-only text pane below the visual canvas. Same real-time behavior as 10.1.4, just laid out vertically inside the embedded tab.

How to open it

  1. Open the Designer on your solution.

  2. Navigate to Data Explorer / SQL Queries.

  3. Pick the Dataset DB you want to query in the Selected Database area at the top of the page.

  4. Click the Visual Query Builder sub-tab.

The schema tree on the left populates with the tables and columns of the selected Dataset DB. Drag tables onto the canvas, draw joins between them, and the generated SQL updates live in the read-only pane underneath.

Behavioral changes from 10.1.4

Aspect

10.1.4

10.1.5

Where it runs

Separate window, opened by a button on Datasets / DBs

Embedded sub-tab of Data Explorer / SQL Queries

Database connection

Builder maintains its own connection string and provider picker

Reads metadata from the Dataset DB already configured in the solution

Initial action

Click Connect, choose provider, enter data source path

Click the sub-tab; schema appears automatically

Theme

Fixed look, independent of Designer theme

Follows the active Designer theme

SQL output

Generated SQL inside the builder window

Read-only SQL preview pane below the canvas in the embedded tab

The visual canvas, column grid (Visible, Expression, Column Name, Sort Type, Sort Order, Aggregate, Grouping, Criteria, Or), and join semantics are unchanged from 10.1.4 - if you know the older builder, the working surface is the same.

Customizing queries with tag substitution

The 10.1.4 pattern of using Client tags inside SQLStatement and WhereCondition still applies in 10.1.5 unchanged - see the Visual SQL Query Builder Reference for the full description and examples. Nothing about tag substitution, SelectCommand, or the synchronized-property model changed in 10.1.5.

Preview limitations

The 10.1.5 preview build has the following known limitations. They are tracked for the GA release.

  • The schema tree initially loads a small fixed sample (Customers, Orders, Products) for end-to-end smoke testing. Real per-Dataset-DB schema discovery using the FrameworX Ado API replaces the sample before GA.

  • Some inner builder chrome (the docking panel header strip) keeps a fixed navy palette that does not flip under Dark themes. The query canvas and join lines do follow the theme correctly. The docking panel theming lands in a follow-up update.

  • Mid-session theme switches refresh the join-line colors live; some surrounding chrome may need the sub-tab to be reactivated to fully repaint.

In this section...