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Row inspector

The row inspector opens the selected table row beside the grid as a tree of its values. Search inside it, follow foreign keys without leaving it, or edit the row as a JSON document.

Where to find it

ActionHow
Open or close the inspectorSpace on a row in a table's data grid, or Details above the grid
Previous or next row⌘ArrowUp (Ctrl+ArrowUp) and ⌘ArrowDown (Ctrl+ArrowDown)
Search the row⌘F (Ctrl+F) with focus in the panel
Next or previous match⌘G (Ctrl+G) and ⌘⇧G (Ctrl+Shift+G)
Copy the focused value⌘C (Ctrl+C)
Copy the focused subtree as JSON⌘⇧C (Ctrl+Shift+C)
Switch between fields and JSONFields and JSON in the panel header, or ⌘⇧J (Ctrl+Shift+J)
Apply a JSON draftApply, or ⌘Enter (Ctrl+Enter)

The value tree

Each column is one row of the tree, with its name and type on the left and its value on the right. A JSON column opens as objects and arrays you expand in place, and a collapsed container shows how many keys or items it holds. NULL is italic and a boolean carries a dot. A text column that holds a JSON object or array also opens as a tree, and its context menu offers View as text and Copy raw text.

The books grid with the inspector open on row 17: isbn shows an italic NULL, in_print shows true with a dot, and metadata is expanded into an empty awards array, a genres array with poetry and fiction, and a series object.
JSON columns expand in place.
A scratch row whose text column payload is shown as a tree of nested and deep with the values 1, 2 and 3, and the field's context menu open with Copy value, Copy subtree as JSON, Copy raw text and View as text.
Text that holds JSON opens as a tree.

Search

Press ⌘F in the panel to search column names, JSON keys and values together. Matches are highlighted, and the count reads 3 matches until you step with Enter, then 1 of 3. Show matches only hides every field that does not match, so a narrowed object reads, for example, 3 of 4 keys. Regular expression reads the query as a pattern.

Stepping moves to each match, and matches only hides the rest.
The inspector search in regular expression mode with a pattern for names ending in _at or _unix, reporting 3 matches and highlighting placed_at, placed_unix and updated_at.
A pattern can match column names as well as values.

Foreign keys

A foreign key field lists the table it points to, such as → bookshop.books, under its value. Expand it to load the referenced row in place, with its own fields and keys. Expand a key inside that row to follow the chain further, so order_items, books and authors read as one panel. A table that other rows point to lists them under Referenced by.

An order_items row with book_id expanded into books row 14, and that row's author_id expanded into authors row 20, Dakota Ledger.
Each expanded key loads the referenced row in place.

Copying and wrapping

The … menu in the panel header holds Expand all, Collapse all, Wrap text, Show matches only, Regular expression and Automatically expand relationships. Copy row as JSON copies the row, and Copy visible structure copies what the panel shows, related rows included.

The panel menu open over the inspector, listing Expand all, Collapse all, Wrap text with a check, Show matches only, Regular expression, Automatically expand relationships, Copy row as JSON and Copy visible structure.
Display and copy commands share one menu.

JSON view

Choose JSON in the panel header to see the row as one JSON document in an editor. Change values, then choose Apply or press ⌘Enter. Each changed column becomes a pending edit in the grid, and nothing reaches the database until you commit. Discard drops the draft.

Customers row 1 in the JSON view with notifications inside preferences changed to true, and Discard and Apply Command Enter in the footer.
Edits stay in the editor until you apply them.
The customers grid after applying the draft, with row 1's preferences cell highlighted as pending and the bar reading 1 change, 1 edited, with Discard, Preview and Commit.
Applying turns the draft into ordinary pending edits.

Good to know

  • The inspector is part of a table's Data view. Query results use Quick Look instead.
  • Referenced rows are read-only in the panel.
  • The view and the menu switches are remembered, but the search text is not.
  • Pending edits from the JSON view are committed like any other edit. See Editing rows.

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