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Columns

Last modified: 21 June 2023

A column is a piece of data that is stored by a table. This data belongs to a particular type. A column may include text, numbers, or pointers to files in the operating system. Some relational database systems allow columns to include more complex data types like whole documents, images, or video clips.

Columns can be seen in the Database tool window. You can see a reference on node and object icons in the Icons for data sources and their elements chapter of Database tool window topic.

For the table column icons, refer to Possible icon combinations for columns.

Add a column

  1. Right-click a table and select New | Column.

  2. Specify a column name and settings.

  3. Click Execute.

    Add a column

Delete a column

  1. Right-click a column and select Drop. Alternatively, press Delete.

  2. Click OK.

    Drop a column

note

SQLite supports a limited subset of ALTER TABLE commands. In SQLite, you can rename a table, rename a column within a table, add a new column to an existing table. For more information about ALTER TABLE in SQLite, see the official SQLite documentation.

To delete a column in SQLite, right-click a table and select Modify Table. In the Modify dialog, select the column that you want to delete and click the Remove button (the Remove button). The Modify action recreates a table without the deleted column.

Modify a column

  1. In the Database tool window ( View | Tool Windows | Database) , right-click a column and select Modify Column.

  2. In the Modify dialog, specify the column settings that you need.

Starting with IntelliJ IDEA 2022.1, you can change database-specific parameters of a column. The IDE generates fields for the Modify dialog automatically according to the properties received during the introspection. For example, by using this dialog in PostgreSQL, you can add and edit column check constraints.

Modify database-specific parameters of a column

  1. In the Database tool window ( View | Tool Windows | Database) , right-click a column and select Modify Column.

  2. In the Modify dialog, specify object settings that you need.

    note

    Column settings depend on the database vendor. For example, the Auto Increment checkbox is only available for SQLite, MySQL, and other vendors that allow it for a primary key column of an integer data type.

Reorder columns

To reorder columns, use dragging for the corresponding cells in the header row.

Reordering columns

    Hide columns

    • To hide a column, right-click the corresponding header cell and select Hide column.

      Alternatively, you can right-click any of the cells in the header row and select Columns List CtrlF12. In the Columns List window, select a column name and press Space. You can hide all columns. To search through the column list, just start typing a column name in the Columns List window.

      Hide a column

    Show columns

    1. Right-click any of the cells in the header row and select Columns List. Alternatively, press CtrlF12.

    2. Select the hidden column (a strikethrough column name) and press Space.

      Show a column

    tip

    You can review the whole table structure in the Structure tool window (View | Tool Windows | Structure). The Structure tool window displays all columns.

    Reset the table view to the initial state

    • Click the settings icon (the settings icon) and select Reset View. As a result, the data becomes unsorted, the columns appear in the order they were defined initially, and all the columns are shown.

    Inject a language for a column

    • You can assign HTML, CSS, XML, RegExp, or any other formal language for the whole column. So, when you have a piece of code inside the cell that belongs to the column, you can use code generation, code completion, and other IDE features.

      To inject a language for the whole column, right-click the corresponding header cell, and select Set Highlighting Language. In the list of supported languages, select the language that you want to inject.

      Inject a language for a column

    Change the column width

    • Position a cursor between two columns, so it changes to the resize mode. Drag it to the preferred position.