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Columns

Last modified: 23 January 2025

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 ( Column) can be found in the Database tool window.

Columns in Database

Add a column

  1. In the Database tool window (View | Tool Windows | Database) , expand the data source tree until the nodes of tables.

  2. Right-click the table node and select New | Column.

  3. In the Modify dialog that opens, enter the name of your column in the Name field.

  4. In the Preview pane, you can view and change the generated SQL code.

  5. Click OK to add your column.

Add a column

Delete a column

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

  2. Click OK.

For more information about the dialog options, refer to Confirm Drop dialog.

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, and add a new column to an existing table. For more information about the command in SQLite, refer to 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

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.

  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.

  3. Click OK save your changes.

Reorder columns

  • To reorder columns, drag the corresponding cells in the header row.

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 Show Column List CtrlF12. In the column list popup window, select a column name and press Space. You can hide all columns. To search through the column list, start typing a column name in the Show Column List window.

    Hide column

Show columns

  1. Right-click any of the cells in the header row and select Show Column 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.

    Restore the initial table view

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

  • Place the caret between two columns, so it changes to the resize mode. Drag it to the preferred position.

Work with data

To learn how to work with column data, refer to the topics of Data editor and viewer section:

  1. Sort data

    You can sort data by clicking a column's header, or by entering a sorting query into the corresponding field. By default, each time you sort data, IntelliJ IDEA sends a new ORDER BY query to the database. You can also change the setting and sort data on the client side.

  2. Filter data

    Use one of the following ways to filter data:

    • Specify filtering conditions.

    • Run a search on the table.

    • Enter a filtering query into the corresponding field.

    WHERE and ORDER BY fields for sorting

Productivity tips

Drag column names to your code

  • In the Database tool window (View | Tool Windows | Database) , select any database objects and drag them to your code.

    Drag column names to your code