Using the Work Area

The Work Area is where you write, execute, and manage your SQL queries. This guide covers everything from creating query tabs to executing complex SQL statements.

Overview

The Work Area consists of:

Query Tabs: Multiple SQL editors with syntax highlighting
SQL Editor: Monaco-based editor with IntelliSense and autocomplete
Results Panel: Grid display for query results
Messages Panel: Execution feedback and error messages
Toolbar: Quick actions for common operations

Query Tabs

Creating a New Tab

Method 1: From Toolbar

Click the "+ New Query" button in the toolbar

Method 2: From Connections Tree

Right-click a database → "New Query"
The tab will be automatically associated with that database

Method 3: Keyboard Shortcut

Cmd+N (macOS) or Ctrl+N (Windows)

Tab Management

Multiple Tabs:

Open as many tabs as you need
Each tab can connect to a different database
Tabs are independent—running a query in one doesn't affect others

Tab Title:

Shows the query filename or "Untitled" for new queries
Shows the active database in parentheses
Shows a dot (•) if the tab has unsaved changes

Example:

UserReport.sql (ProductionDB) •

Switching Between Tabs

Click the tab to activate it.

Keyboard Shortcuts:

Cmd+Shift+[ / Cmd+Shift+] (macOS): Previous/Next tab
Ctrl+Tab / Ctrl+Shift+Tab (Windows): Cycle through tabs
Cmd+1 to Cmd+9 (or Ctrl+1 to Ctrl+9): Jump to tab 1-9

Closing Tabs

Method 1: Click the X

Click the X on the tab

Method 2: Keyboard

Cmd+W (macOS) or Ctrl+W (Windows)

Method 3: Context Menu

Right-click tab → "Close"

Close Other Options:

Close Other Tabs: Close all except this one
Close Tabs to the Right: Close all tabs after this one
Close All Tabs: Close all tabs
Close Saved Tabs: Close only tabs without unsaved changes

Reordering Tabs

Drag and drop tabs to reorder them.

Pinning Tabs

Keep important tabs from being accidentally closed:

Right-click the tab
Select "Pin Tab"
Pinned tabs appear first and show a 📌 icon

To unpin:

Right-click → "Unpin Tab"

SQL Editor

Writing SQL

The editor provides:

Syntax Highlighting: Keywords, strings, comments colored differently
Line Numbers: Track your code easily
Code Folding: Collapse/expand code blocks
Bracket Matching: Highlights matching parentheses, brackets, braces

IntelliSense and Autocomplete

The editor provides intelligent suggestions as you type:

Database Objects:

Start typing a table name: USE → suggestions appear
Press Ctrl+Space to manually trigger autocomplete
Navigate suggestions with ↑ / ↓
Press Enter or Tab to accept

SQL Keywords:

Type SEL → SELECT appears
Keywords are shown with a 🔑 icon

Column Names:

After SELECT and typing a table reference, columns are suggested
Example: SELECT * FROM Users. → column suggestions appear

Snippets:

Type ss → SELECT * FROM snippet
Type ins → INSERT INTO template
Type upd → UPDATE template

Function Signatures:

As you type a function, parameters are shown
Example: DATEADD( → shows required parameters

Formatting SQL

Auto-Format:

Select SQL code (or press Cmd+A / Ctrl+A for all)
Press Shift+Alt+F (macOS/Windows)
SQL is automatically formatted with proper indentation

Manual Formatting:

Right-click in editor → "Format Document"

Format Settings: Go to Settings → Editor → SQL Formatting:

Keyword case (UPPERCASE, lowercase, PascalCase)
Indentation (spaces or tabs, size)
Line length
Comma placement (before or after)

Comments

Single-line Comment:

-- This is a comment
SELECT * FROM Users; -- End-of-line comment

Multi-line Comment:

/*
  This is a multi-line comment
  It can span multiple lines
*/
SELECT * FROM Users;

Keyboard Shortcuts:

Cmd+/ (macOS) or Ctrl+/ (Windows): Toggle line comment
Shift+Alt+A (macOS/Windows): Toggle block comment

Multiple Cursors

Edit multiple locations simultaneously:

Add Cursor:

Alt+Click (macOS/Windows): Add cursor at click position
Cmd+Alt+↑/↓ (macOS) or Ctrl+Alt+↑/↓ (Windows): Add cursor above/below

Select All Occurrences:

Cmd+Shift+L (macOS) or Ctrl+Shift+L (Windows): Select all instances of selected text

Example:

SELECT Name FROM Users;
SELECT Email FROM Users;
SELECT Phone FROM Users;

Select "Users", press Cmd+Shift+L, type "Customers" to replace all at once.

Find and Replace

Find:

Cmd+F (macOS) or Ctrl+F (Windows)
Enter search term
Navigate results with Enter (next) or Shift+Enter (previous)

Replace:

Cmd+H (macOS) or Ctrl+H (Windows)
Enter find term and replacement
Replace one at a time or Replace All

Advanced:

Match Case: Case-sensitive search
Match Whole Word: Exact word matches only
Use Regular Expression: Pattern-based search

Executing Queries

Execute Entire Script

Method 1: Toolbar Button

Click the ▶ Execute button

Method 2: Keyboard Shortcut

Cmd+Enter (macOS) or F5 (Windows)

Method 3: Context Menu

Right-click → "Execute"

Execute Selected SQL

To run only part of your script:

Select the SQL you want to execute
Press Cmd+Enter (macOS) or F5 (Windows)
Only the selected portion runs

Example:

-- Only run this part
SELECT * FROM Users WHERE Active = 1;

-- Not this part
-- SELECT * FROM Orders;

Execute to Cursor

Run everything from the start up to the cursor position:

Place cursor where you want execution to stop
Right-click → "Execute to Cursor"
Or press Cmd+Shift+Enter (macOS) or Shift+F5 (Windows)

Stop Execution

To cancel a running query:

Click the ⏹ Stop button (appears when a query is running)
Or press Cmd+. (macOS) or Ctrl+C (Windows)

Execution Confirmations

For write operations (INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE) and DDL operations (CREATE, ALTER, DROP), LuceData shows a confirmation dialog:

Confirmation Dialog Shows:

The SQL statement about to be executed
Number of rows/objects affected (if known)
Warning level (Info, Warning, Danger)

Options:

Execute: Run the query
Cancel: Don't run the query
Always Allow: Don't ask again for this connection (can be changed in settings)

Safety Settings: Go to Settings → Query Execution:

Confirm Write Operations: Always ask before INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE
Confirm DDL Operations: Always ask before CREATE/ALTER/DROP
Confirm DROP Operations: Extra confirmation for DROP statements
Rollback on Error: Wrap statements in transactions

Results Panel

Viewing Results

After executing a query, results appear in the Results Panel below the editor.

Results Grid:

Column headers show column names and data types
Rows are paginated (1000 rows per page by default)
Sortable by clicking column headers
Resizable columns

Multiple Result Sets: If your query returns multiple result sets, tabs appear:

Results 1, Results 2, etc.
Click tabs to switch between result sets

Navigating Results

Pagination:

Use ◀ Previous / Next ▶ buttons
Or jump to a specific page

Sorting:

Click column header to sort ascending
Click again to sort descending
Hold Shift and click multiple headers for multi-column sort

Filtering:

Click the filter icon in column header
Enter filter criteria (text, numbers, dates)
Supports operators: =, !=, >, <, >=, <=, LIKE

Example Filters:

> 100: Values greater than 100
LIKE John%: Values starting with "John"
!= NULL: Non-null values

Copying Results

Copy Cell:

Click a cell and press Cmd+C (macOS) or Ctrl+C (Windows)

Copy Row:

Right-click row → "Copy Row"

Copy Column:

Right-click column header → "Copy Column"

Copy All Results:

Right-click in results → "Copy All"
Results are copied as tab-delimited text

Copy as SQL:

Right-click row → "Copy as INSERT"
Generates an INSERT statement for the row

Exporting Results

Export to CSV:

Right-click in results
Select "Export to CSV"
Choose location and filename
Click "Save"

Export Options:

Include Headers: First row contains column names
Delimiter: Comma, tab, semicolon, or pipe
Text Qualifier: Quote text fields
Date Format: Customize date/time format
Null Value: How to represent NULL (empty, "NULL", "N/A", etc.)

More Export Formats (Coming Soon):

Excel (.xlsx)
JSON
XML
Parquet

Editing Results (Coming Soon)

Direct result editing is planned:

Edit cells directly in the results grid
Changes are sent as UPDATE statements
Requires write permissions

Messages Panel

The Messages Panel shows:

✅ Success messages: Rows affected, execution time
⚠️ Warnings: Non-critical issues
❌ Errors: Syntax errors, permission errors, runtime errors
ℹ️ Informational messages: Query plan info, statistics

Example:

✅ Query executed successfully.
(1,247 rows affected)
Execution time: 0.342 seconds

Error Messages:

❌ Error: Invalid column name 'UserName'.
Line 3, Column 8

Clicking an error:

Jumps to the error location in the editor
Highlights the problematic code

Clearing Messages

Click the Clear button (🗑️) to clear all messages

Splitting the Editor

Work with multiple queries side-by-side:

Split Vertically:

Right-click tab → "Split Right"
Or drag tab to the right edge

Split Horizontally:

Right-click tab → "Split Down"
Or drag tab to the bottom edge

Unsplit:

Drag the tab back to the main tab area
Or close the split pane

Query History

LuceData tracks your query history:

View History:

Click the History icon (🕐) in the toolbar
Browse previously executed queries
Click a query to load it into a new tab

History Features:

Organized by date
Shows execution time and status
Search/filter history
Re-run queries with one click

Clear History:

Right-click in history → "Clear History"
Or go to Settings → Privacy → "Clear Query History"

Saving and Opening Queries

Saving Queries

Save:

Cmd+S (macOS) or Ctrl+S (Windows)
Choose location and filename
Files are saved with .sql extension

Save As:

Cmd+Shift+S (macOS) or Ctrl+Shift+S (Windows)
Save a copy with a new name

Auto-Save: Go to Settings → Editor:

Enable Auto-Save
Set delay (e.g., 5 seconds after last change)

Opening Queries

Open File:

Cmd+O (macOS) or Ctrl+O (Windows)
Select a .sql file
Opens in a new tab

Recent Files:

File → Recent Files
Or Cmd+E (macOS) / Ctrl+E (Windows)

Drag and Drop:

Drag a .sql file from Finder/Explorer into LuceData
Opens in a new tab

Snippets and Templates

Using Snippets

Snippets are reusable code templates:

Common Snippets:

ss → SELECT * FROM TableName
sst → SELECT TOP 100 * FROM TableName
ins → INSERT INTO TableName (Columns) VALUES (Values)
upd → UPDATE TableName SET Column = Value WHERE Condition
del → DELETE FROM TableName WHERE Condition
ct → CREATE TABLE TableName (Columns)
cte → Common Table Expression template
proc → Stored procedure template
func → Function template

Using a Snippet:

Type the snippet shortcut
Press Tab
Fill in the placeholders (press Tab to jump between them)

Creating Custom Snippets

Go to Settings → Snippets
Click "+ New Snippet"
Enter:
- Name: Descriptive name
- Prefix: Shortcut to trigger (e.g., myquery)
- Body: The SQL template
- Description: What the snippet does
Use ${1:placeholder}, ${2:placeholder} for tab stops
Click "Save"

Example Custom Snippet:

{
  "name": "Select User by ID",
  "prefix": "seluser",
  "body": [
    "SELECT",
    "    UserId,",
    "    Username,",
    "    Email,",
    "    CreatedDate",
    "FROM Users",
    "WHERE UserId = ${1:UserId};"
  ],
  "description": "Select a user by ID"
}

Keyboard Shortcuts

Action	macOS	Windows
New Query	`Cmd+N`	`Ctrl+N`
Open Query	`Cmd+O`	`Ctrl+O`
Save Query	`Cmd+S`	`Ctrl+S`
Execute Query	`Cmd+Enter`	`F5`
Execute Selection	`Cmd+Enter`	`F5`
Stop Execution	`Cmd+.`	`Ctrl+C`
Comment Line	`Cmd+/`	`Ctrl+/`
Format SQL	`Shift+Alt+F`	`Shift+Alt+F`
Find	`Cmd+F`	`Ctrl+F`
Replace	`Cmd+H`	`Ctrl+H`
Close Tab	`Cmd+W`	`Ctrl+W`
Next Tab	`Cmd+Shift+]`	`Ctrl+Tab`
Previous Tab	`Cmd+Shift+[`	`Ctrl+Shift+Tab`
Toggle Fullscreen	`Cmd+Ctrl+F`	`F11`

Tips and Tricks

💡 Quick Execute

Select a single line and press Cmd+Enter (or F5) to execute just that line—no need to select text explicitly.

💡 Duplicate Line

Shift+Alt+↓ duplicates the current line below. Great for creating similar queries quickly.

💡 Move Line Up/Down

Alt+↑ / Alt+↓ moves the current line up or down.

💡 Multi-Line Editing

Hold Alt and drag vertically to select a column of text. Type to edit all lines at once.

💡 Block Selection

Hold Shift+Alt and drag to select a rectangular block of text.

💡 Incremental Search

Press Cmd+F (or Ctrl+F) and start typing to search without opening the search box.

💡 Zen Mode

Press Cmd+K Z (macOS) or Ctrl+K Z (Windows) for distraction-free editing (hides all panels).

Troubleshooting

Query Won't Execute

Check the connection is active (green indicator in Connections Tree)
Verify you have permissions for the operation
Check for SQL syntax errors (red squiggly underlines)

Results Not Showing

Check the Messages Panel for errors
Verify the query returns results (try SELECT 1)
Increase result size limit in Settings → Query Execution

Editor is Slow

Close unused tabs
Disable autocomplete for very large databases (Settings → Editor)
Reduce result set size

Can't Save Query

Check you have write permissions to the destination folder
Verify disk space is available
Try "Save As" to a different location

Next Steps

Now that you know how to use the Work Area:

✅ Using the AI Assistant - Generate SQL with natural language
✅ Keyboard Shortcuts - Master productivity shortcuts
✅ Query Optimization - Write faster queries

Need help? Contact us at support@lucedata.com