What is Database Explorer?
With Database Explorer, you can browse through the list of tables of any environment or workspace and open the tables to inspect their data. Information such as which columns are present in a table is presented via a Windows tree view and grid (Columns tab page). Information about the indexes of the chosen table is also presented in a tree view and via the Index tab page. You can change the sort order of the displayed data by browsing through the indexes (in both the tree view and the indexes tab page). All other table information can be accessed via the Attributes tab page. Finally, on the DDO/Filters tab page, the table’s child and parent tables can be viewed and/or opened. The second function of this tab page is viewing, adding, changing, and deleting filters to the data.
When the dbAdminMode value of the registry is ON or DDB, Database Explorer allows you to change the settings that determine whether tables can be opened for read-write or read-only. It provides a quick and easy way to add, delete, or modify records in a table, as well as the ability to erase the entire contents of the table.
Warning
Modifying file data through this tool can seriously disrupt or disable applications that depend on the data. Database Explorer will not and cannot respect the business rules that are coded in the data dictionaries of most tables. The user can enter data that is invalid to the validation rules, enter foreign key values that do not match with existing records, and, as another example, auto numbering does not work.
The use of Database Explorer for modifying data should be limited to users who can be relied upon not to damage applications in use.