Intro to SQLfor Organizing
Module 2 · BigQuery Setup and Interface › 2.3 Workspace tour
Subsection 2.3

Workspace tour

~4 min

Reading

The BigQuery SQL Workspace has several areas you will use over and over.

The Explorer panel is where you find the data you want to query. This menu shows Google Projects and the data sources they contain. You can browse through the hierarchy or search for an object by name.

The query editor is where you write your SQL. This is where you will type commands like SELECT, FROM, WHERE, GROUP BY, ORDER BY, and LIMIT.

The results panel is where BigQuery displays the results after your query runs. This is the table of answers returned by your SQL.

You will also see buttons and features around the editor:

  • Run: runs your query.
  • Save: creates a saved query or query snippet.
  • Share: helps manage access.
  • Schedule: lets you run a query later or on a regular interval.
  • More: gives you additional options, including saving output to a table.

You may also see query alerts. These can tell you when the query has an issue, when it may process a lot of data, or when something about the syntax needs attention.

Important habit

Do not start by typing code. Start by orienting yourself:

  • Which project am I in?
  • Which dataset am I using?
  • Which table am I inspecting?
  • Can I see the schema?
  • Can I preview rows?
  • Do I know what one row represents?

The BigQuery console looks busy on first open. It is actually only five regions. Once you know what each one does, the rest is search and click.

1 · Explorer projects / datasets / tables 2 · Query editor SELECT * FROM `project.dataset.table` LIMIT 10; 3 · Run · Save · Schedule buttons 4 · Query results rows returned · bytes processed 5 · Table tabs (when a table is open): Schema · Details · Preview
Diagram 2.3 · Workspace at a glance. Five regions: Explorer on the left, the query editor and its action buttons in the center, the results panel below, and the table-detail tabs that appear when you click a table.

Hover to learn

Hover over any icon you do not recognize. BigQuery has tooltips on most buttons. Two worth knowing today:

  • Save : saves the current query so you (or anyone you share with) can re-run it.
  • Schedule : sets a query to run on a cron-like schedule. We will not use this in the course but it is good to know it exists.

Action: Find all five regions in your BigQuery tab.