Visual Query Builder

Basics

The Visual Query Builder allows for the creation of MongoDB queries via drag-and-drop, in combination with the Table and Tree Views.

The Visual Query Builder is part of the greater Collections Tab, which is where users can view, query, and edit documents within the collection.

The Collections Tab houses both the Visual Query Builder:

And the Main Query Bar, which shows the mongo shell’s syntax as it is being built:

There are three ways to open the Visual Query Builder:

Build the query

Let’s build a query using the Visual Query Builder and the Customers replica data set, which can be downloaded here.

Drag and drop fields

Select the target field by clicking on any cell (not the header), then drag the selected field(s) and drop them into the Query Builder.

In Table View, fields can be selected one at a time. However in Tree View, multiple lines can be selected and dropped into the Visual Query Builder simultaneously. To do this, hold ‘ctrl‘ and click the fields to be used.

Customize the query

To better specify the query, drag as many fields as necessary. Here is the query built using the Visual Query Builder from the above GIF, in JSON query syntax:

db.Customers.find(
{
"title" : "Mr",
"package" : "XL",
"transactions" : {
"$gt" : NumberInt(46)
}
}
);

Define values and operators

To further filter queries, define the desired operators and values in the Query, Projection, and Sort sections.

Query section

State the operators as needed under the Query Section.

By default, the $and operator is automatically used to combine queries. The $or operator is NOT selected by default and must be manually added. To ensure functionality, state the $or operator before defining the fields as seen in the example below.

The Visual Query Builder will automatically detect value type (e.g. Int32, string, regex) from added fields. Switch between field types by clicking on the Value icon.

For string values, a multiline text editor – handy for editing long strings – can be opened by clicking on the ellipsis icon.

Similar advanced editors can also be found for regex, undefined, and binary values.

Projection section

The Projection section allows users to include or exclude specific fields from the query results.

Sort section

The Sort section lets users sort query results by a specific field, in either ascending or descending order.

If multiple fields are defined (say, last name – ascending and first name – descending), Visual Query Builder will sort the results by the first field (last name). The second field (first name) won’t be considered.

View the built query in the mongo shell language

The Visual Query Builder simultaneously displays the built query in mongo shell syntax under the Main Query Bar, which also shows the changes made to it as it’s being built.

The original query has now been extended as follows:

Run the query

Once the correct fields, values, and operators are in place, click the Execute button (play symbol) at the top of the screen or the Run button towards the bottom of the screen.