Custom Queries

The legacy Table Builder supported inline custom query editing. However, this feature had several limitations and performance issues — it was slower than normal queries because it required additional handling. For these reasons, we decided to remove the inline custom query option and instead support custom queries in a more native way.

Database Views

A database view is essentially a custom query stored in the database.

A database view is a virtual table defined by a stored SELECT query. It presents data from one or more tables without physically storing that data, and it always reflects the most current data in the database. Within WP Data Access, database views can be managed in the SQL Query Builder.

> Creating views in the SQL Query Builder is explained here...

📌 Good news for free users: custom queries are now available to free users as well.

Using Database Views in Apps

Once created, views can be used in apps just like tables. For example, csv_demo_products_view in the screenshot below is a database view (= custom query). The only restriction on database views is that they do not support transactions — but that was no different with the legacy tools.