| Q |
What is "Find Path to..." and when should I use it? |
| A |
In a complex schema, two tables may be connected through
several intermediate tables without an obvious direct foreign
key. Find Path to...
computes the union of all shortest paths between a source and
a destination table, displays the result as an interactive
graph, and lets you choose which path to use.
Typical use cases:
- Navigating from a table you already have open in the
Data Browser to a distantly related table
- Understanding how two tables are connected in an
unfamiliar schema
- Quickly opening a chain of related tables in one
step
|
| Q |
How do I invoke "Find Path to..."? |
| A |
Right-click on any table in the
Closure View of the
Data Browser. The context menu contains a
Find Path to …
sub-menu listing all tables that are reachable from the
current table. Each entry shows the number of hops to the
destination.
Click a destination table to open the
PathFinder
dialog.
|
| Q |
What does the PathFinder dialog show? |
| A |
The dialog is split into two panels:
Left panel — Path graph. Tables are arranged
in columns from left (source, distance 0) to right
(destination). Each column holds all tables at that hop
distance. Edges are colour-coded by association
type:
| Red |
Parent association (destination is inserted before
source) |
| Green |
Child association (source is inserted before
destination) |
| Blue |
Standard association |
| Grey |
Restricted / ignored association (visible only when
Consider
restrictions is unchecked) |
Right panel — Excluded Tables. Lists candidate
tables with their name and neighbour count. Use the checkboxes
to exclude individual tables from the path search.
|
| Q |
How do I narrow down the path? |
| A |
Several controls let you refine the result:
| Exclude a single table |
Click the delete icon next to any intermediate
table in the graph, or tick its checkbox in the
right panel. The path is recomputed
immediately. |
| Exclude a whole distance level |
Click the delete icon shown between two distance
columns to exclude all tables at that hop distance at
once. |
| Force a path station |
Right-click an intermediate table in the graph and
choose one of its direct successors. This forces the
path to go through that specific edge. Forced stations
are highlighted in the graph. |
| Undo / Redo |
Use the arrow buttons in the toolbar to step back or
forward through your exclusion and station
changes. |
| Reset |
Clears all exclusions and forced stations and
restores the original shortest-path result. |
|
| Q |
What does "Consider restrictions" do? |
| A |
Associations that have been restricted or disabled in the
data model are normally ignored by the path search. Unchecking
Consider restrictions
forces the algorithm to treat all associations as active,
regardless of any restriction conditions. Restricted
associations then appear as grey edges in the graph.
This option is useful when the path you are looking for runs
through an association that was intentionally restricted for
export purposes, but is still meaningful for navigation in the
Data Browser.
|
| Q |
What if no path is found? |
| A |
When no path exists with the current exclusions and
settings, the graph is empty and the
Show Path buttons are
disabled. To recover:
- Use Undo to
remove the last exclusion and check whether a path
reappears.
- Click Reset to
clear all exclusions at once.
- Uncheck Consider
restrictions to allow restricted associations into
the search.
|
| Q |
How do I apply the found path to the Data Browser? |
| A |
Once a path is found, two buttons become active:
| Show Path |
Closes the dialog and highlights the path in the
Closure View. The tables on the path are selected so
you can follow them visually. |
| Show Path and open Tables |
Closes the dialog, highlights the path, and
additionally opens each intermediate table as a panel
in the Data Browser — ready for immediate
row-level navigation. |
|
| Q |
Can I reuse a previously found path? |
| A |
Yes. Every path you accept is automatically saved to a
history file. The next time you open the PathFinder dialog for
the same source–destination pair, click
From History in the
toolbar to restore the previously computed path including all
exclusions and forced stations.
The history also stores the reverse direction automatically:
if you found a path from table A to table B, the
same path is available when you later search from
B to A.
|
