Toad for Oracle has some very useful command line processing options for those who want to automate certain database tasks. Let’s examine three incrementally complex command line option examples that should provide sufficient models for you to build upon. The third example is really the only method that you’re going to want to learn and reuse. But we’ll examine the first two nonetheless since they provide good background and...

Hi!  Watch for my regular posts right here on Tuesdays.  I wanted to start with a bit of TOAD history.

Toad got its start back when Windows 3.1 came out ...

We get lots of questions regarding Toad for Oracle performance – with most questions falling into one of three basic categories:

I’ve installed a new version of Toad and it’s not as fast as my prior version My copy of Toad seems to run slower than other people whom I work with My current Toad install recently feels much slower or slowing over time The first scenario is quite simple – check all your...

SQL join syntax can at times be both confusing and overwhelming. It’s not bad enough that one needs to think about inner vs. outer and left vs. right vs. full joins, but there’s also both the old Oracle proprietary syntax vs. the ANSI standard syntax. Whew. Now add to the equation your Oracle version, because not all database versions offered full ANSI join support – plus early on there were database optimizer issues regarding...

I get this very question at least once a month – sometimes more. The problem report is always exactly the same – “The Toad debugger toolbar icon is disabled (greyed-out) and so I cannot debug my code!” Of course since Toad won’t let them do what they want, it is therefore invariably perceived and communicated as a Toad problem and/or bug. Not so!

People have questions regarding Toad for Oracle in relation to Oracle licensing requirements. They want to know “Does Toad for Oracle require purchasing optional, additional cost Oracle price book items. In short, Toad for Oracle does not require buying anything other than the Oracle database.

However questions persist. Here are the questions asked most often with their answers.

Question: Toad for Oracle Xpert Edition, Toad Development Suite for Oracle and Toad DBA Suite for Oracle contain SQL Optimizer for tuning and optimizing SQL statements.  Does this require the Oracle Enterprise Manager (OEM) tuning pack?

...

In my recent blog titled “Copying Database Data to Microsoft Excel via Toad” I showed how easily Toad can export data into Excel – a favorite tool of many business analysts. But what if instead the data starts out in Excel and I want to get it loaded into Oracle? This too is a very common “use...

Many business analysts rely heavily upon Microsoft Excel as one of their primary tools for manipulating and reporting upon their business data. Common ways they often get access to the database data include:

Sending database data extraction requests to their information systems (IS) people to perform and then deliver the desired Excel Spreadsheet or “delimited” text file for them to load in Excel. However this...

Many Toad for Oracle users are familiar with the ‘Generate Data’ option. This feature allows users to select one or more tables and populate them with data automatically. While this is certainly powerful functionality, I am often asked about more advanced cases, specifically ones in which tables are related, and the data generated in the parent/child tables must conform to referential integrity constraints defined on the tables. Understanding...

Generating the column list for a table is something I find myself doing on a fairly regular basis, whether for writing an INSERT statement, reverse-engineering a table or some other dynamic SQL/DDL purpose. I’ve probably written this query about a million times:



SELECT DECODE(column_id, 1, ' ', ',') || LOWER(column_name) column_name

FROM user_tab_columns

WHERE table_name = 'NUMS'

ORDER...

Bert brings a fresh view to one of Toad World's most popular blog topics.

The Toad Freeware Amazon Machine Image (AMI) is a relatively simple virtual machine that’s running a minimalist Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system and which has three Quest Software (now part of Dell) Toad freeware apps preinstalled and placed on the desktop: Toad for Oracle, Toad for SQL Server and Toad for MySQL. These freeware offer a useful subset of their commercial product counterparts. In addition these freeware...

In a recent blog titled “Toad 11.6 Runs Natively on Linux” I showed how to install and run Toad 11.6 for Oracle on Linux. The steps are pretty easy – but many people simply may not have the time or patience to test drive Toad on Linux. So I’ve built two virtual machines with Toad 11.6 freeware and commercial already...

Look at the screen snapshot shown in Figure 1 below – I’m running Toad for Oracle 11.6 commercial “natively via WINE” on Linux – specifically Ubuntu Linux version 10.04 64-bit. Therefore you can now run the world’s favorite Oracle database tool on Linux. Goodbye Windows!

 

Figure 1: Toad running natively...

We are excited to announce the upcoming release of Toad for Oracle version 11.6 which will be released tomorrow, Tuesday October 2nd, 2012. This blog serves as a early look at the updates and enhancements to Toad for Oracle v11.6 including its corresponding bundled components. Toad for Oracle is the most widely used database management solution on the market today with over 2 million users. Toad brings operational efficiency...

This blog discusses starting and stopping SQL Trace from within TOAD

This blog entry discusses TOAD and the TKProf Interface...

A better way to review Oracle SQL Trace Files

 

With last week's v1.6 release, Toad Extension for Eclipse adds MySQL to the list of supported platforms. So whether you're working with Oracle, PostgreSQL, or MySQL - on Windows, Linux, or Mac OS X - there's a Toad for you!

If you're currently using Toad Extension for Eclipse, here's how you enable this support.

Toad has always had the ability to take your SQL statement and convert it to another language, like Java, C++, C#, etc., as well as the ability to take existing code and strip out the non-sql characters from your Java, C++, etc., code.

The way to set this up was to go into the VIEW menu item, choose TOAD OPTIONS, then choose EDITOR, and then choose CODE ASSIST, then choose your language from MAKE CODE:



...

In my last blog, we discussed how Toad for Oracle’s Code Analysis can be used to create and clone rules for ensuring code quality through the database development lifecycle. Building on that theme, this blog will focus on how Code Analysis and Team Coding can be used conjunctively to automate code quality validation...

A step by step guide to building a TOAD® Reports Manager report that caters for instances where there’s “No Data Found

Here we go again! After having written and blogged about this topic a fair bit in the past, having too many managers is a problem I still continue to see all too often. A good example is a site I worked with recently; it had 20+ managers just to run the workflow background processes.

Putting aside the need to address the excessive workflow background processes (which is another problem in its own right) there are major...

It’s that time of year again when Toad for Oracle takes another step forward in bringing the best of class functionality for the Oracle user. Quest Software recently announced the release of Toad for Oracle v11.5 which includes many important enhancements for Developers and DBAs. One of the areas of functionality that has will be exciting for those Developers looking to improve code quality and incorporate best practices...

Yep, you read that right... I'l do my best to keep things "magical and revolutionary!" along the way.

Scheduled requests are one of the mainstays of OEBS concurrent processing.

 

One of the benefits of recurring scheduled requests is they are “set and forget” they just happily run and resubmit without you having to do a thing.

 

The biggest issue I’ve found, and this applies to almost all sites, is the “forget” component. I regularly find scheduled requests that have been running for years that are no longer required, and also duplicate scheduled requests which have come about because someone doesn’t know the original request exists. Both these issues are a waste of processing resources.

...

The Plan Table QBlock Name column is used in conjunction with a hint to expose exactly where the sub queries of a SQL statement appear in the Plan Table.

Quest Software is pleased to announce that Quest Backup Reporter for Oracle is now bundled as a component of the Toad DBA Suite for Oracle and Toad DBA Suite for Oracle - RAC Edition for no additional cost. As you may already know, the above-mentioned Suites offer a complete Oracle DBA solution that enables you to become more proactive by automating tasks related to administration, maintenance, performance management and change...

New PLAN_TABLE support starting in Oracle10g.

 

I have seen examples of sites with over 50 million rows in the fnd_concurrent_requests_u1 index; a huge waste of space! More importantly however is the problem of poor performance in such a core OEBS activity.

In my last post I outlined the method for accessing and using Quest Software’s Toad for Oracle Freeware and Toad for MySQL Freeware AMI, available at aws.amazon.com. I explained in detail how to start the instance, how to download and install an Oracle client, and how to make sure Toad Freeware recognizes the client....

Written by Bert Scalzo

As a long time student (BS, MS, PhD and MBA), educator (teaching assistant and adjunct professor) and author (9 books) I’ve spent years championing good database design, administration and development practices. Two tools that I’ve always seen as the “one two punch” to successful database work are Toad Data Modeler and Toad for Oracle. Toad Data Modeler permits one to design a database that’s effective (i.e. meets business requirements) as well as efficient (i.e. performs well). Toad for Oracle then educates and empowers one to both administer and develop successful databases. In fact the Toad family mantra is to increase database productivity with easy to use tools.

...

People are always asking about a 64-bit version of Toad. The short answer there is currently no 64-bit version of Toad, but the development team has heard the requests and is on top of the issue. But let’s examine some facts versus fiction regarding 64-bit to make sure you know the truth about 64-bit apps.

Creating a 64-bit application is easy – just recompile the code. FALSE. Assuming your compiler offers a 64-bit...

A common question is how to convince one’s management that Toad is to be preferred versus several other free alternatives – most notably Oracle’s SQL Developer tool. A simple answer is that Toad is quite arguably the “de facto standard” due to both tenure (over a decade) and market adoption (two million users). That translates into a mature tool offering a robust feature set and a large workforce pool. Thus a database tool...

Not known at this address...

If you're paying attention, you may have noticed that we just renamed the Toad Extension for Eclipse freeware product to a "Community Edition." Why did we do that? I'm glad you asked.

With the latest version of Toad for Oracle on the streets, the Toad User Conference season is with us again enabling us to showcase what’s new in Toad and other related products and for Toad users to network with each other to share experiences.

 

We have been running Toad User Groups and Conferences since 2002 and they have been extremely popular with our Toad community and with people who are new to Toad. Most...

In a prior blog post,  I illustrated graphically the concept of mirroring in Toad 11’s new Team Coding version 7. In this post I will explain step by step the process in the Toad UI.

When I wrote my last blog announcing the new Toad Weekly Quiz, I laid down a challenge to all you budding Toad users out there to see who knows the most about Toad for Oracle!

The idea behind mirroring is the same as User Mapping in prior versions of Team Coding. Mirroring allows PL/SQL developers to operate on code objects in their own workspace (such as a development schema), make changes, and then finalize the original “controlled” object by compiling the latest revision from the VCS into the production schema.

In part one of this topic, I showed you how to convert a 10.6-generated CodeXpert INI file to a Toad 11 Code Analysis action by using the now deprecated –CX switch as part of the DOS command. In Toad version 11, Code Analysis can still be run from the command-line, but it will be in the form of an action...

With the release of Toad for Oracle version 11, the CodeXpert code rules engine has been transformed into Code Analysis. It is now easier to use, features more rules, is appreciably faster, and it can be saved as an action. But if you’ve got lots of configuration (*.ini) files left over from CodeXpert command-line runs, how do you retain them for use with Code Analysis?

I’m glad you asked.



Say you...

Before the advent of Windows Vista/7 and the oft-dreaded UAC, Toad for Oracle’s configuration settings were stored under the Program Files folder hive, where Toad’s runtime files took up residence. Things are different now. User Account Control and tighter system security have obviated the need for each user’s personal settings to be stored in an application data folder most commonly under C:\Users\. Beginning with Toad for Oracle 10.0, user settings are no longer stored in Program Files. This creates a bit of confusion when migrating from a pre-10.0 version of Toad to Toad 10.6 or the new Toad version 11. Here’s how to do it.

...

Updated for Version 11! Using an older copy of Toad? That’s OK! Most of my favorite tips and tricks are for features that have been in the product for years!

How do I get started? There has to be a better way to get data to Excel. Toad is so busy, how do I simply the interface without sacrificing functionality? How do I make my SQL statement ‘go faster?’ After using Toad for 10 years, what am I missing?

I have...

One of the things that gives me the greatest pleasure as I attend various Toad User Groups and Conferences around the world is the sheer enthusiasm for Toad amongst attendees and an ambition to learn as much as possible about Toad, not only from us at Quest Software, but from each other.



I remember...

Yes, I know – the phrase is actually supposed to be the opposite, “Can’t See the Forest for the Trees.” One of the reasons English is such a hard second language to pick up apparently is all the idioms and non-literal phrases we use. So in case you’ve never heard this phrase before, it basically implies that you are missing the big picture point of a discussion because you are focusing on a very small piece of the puzzle.

...

I frequently need to find a table in a particular SCHEMA, or even just anywhere in the database, that stores data of a specific datatype. This generally happens when a customer asks me, ‘Hey, does Toad support the ANYDATA|LONG RAW|CLOB|BLOB datatype?’

So I decide to find said table and just show them what the application can do with a real example. Unfortunately I usually need to go to the editor and run a query to find a table ‘manually.’ I do have a Named Query to help me do this:

...

Quest is exploring whether to and how best to add support for Oracle Application Express in Toad for Oracle.

 

More and more Oracle technologists are building websites in APEX technology. It is moving rapidly from the sidelines of departmental applications to the mainstream of robust, public and private websites implementing mission critical applications involving many users. For example, my PL/SQL Challenge website, offering daily, weekly and monthly quizzes on Oracle technology, is built on APEX.

...

Many of our Toad users need to work with really wide tables. By ‘wide’ I mean a table with many, many columns. Oracle currently supports a maximum of 1,000 columns for a table or view. If that includes you, then we can help you. Ok, maybe you don’t have a 1,000 columns, but I’m guessing you work with more than a few tables having at least 100 columns. If you are in Toad and are scrolling left-to-right in the grid, this can...

This week was ‘visit customers and show off Toad’ week. I didn’t get a lot of questions, but one question did come up in almost every meeting – “How do we turn off that annoying popup thingy in the editor?!? I just want to type and Toad gets in my way!”

The good news is that it is very, very easy to turn off. The better news is that...

Most Oracle IDEs (integrated development environments) these days make it really easy to get your SQL statement’s Execution Plan. Of course you have your theoretical plan, and then the actual plan that the database engine employs. You look in different places for those plans, but the tool generally makes that process invisible to the user.

Read More About Explain Plans

How Many Rows Will My Query Return (Cardinality)...

I mentioned the other day what a pain it was to manage a database that had both DBMS_JOBS and DBMS_SCHEDULER being utilized to run jobs. One of my peeps, @Boneist reminded me it was even harder for her because Toad deemed it necessary to purchase an optional ‘DB Admin module’ to work with the DBMS_SCHEDULER interface.

The argument is simple –...

Sometimes we get bored and change stuff in Toad just to mess with people.

I’m pretty sure there are people out there that really believe that. In our defense, I will say that we do change things pretty frequently, but it’s always in the pursuit of improving the user experience. However, sometimes there are unintended consequences and collateral damage.

So, when we do change something, we end up pleasing about...

You may have heard the term ‘ROWID’ many times without really stopping to think about what purpose it serves. The end user – or even the application developer themselves – will rarely have a need to interface with a ROWID. Even so, ROWIDs do a lot of cool things.

As developers, we all know the pain associated with peer-based code peer reviews. It’s frustrating and time-consuming having to show your hard-worked code to your team-lead or development manager, only to have to make changes to it either through silly errors or because perhaps your PL/SQL experience is lacking.

One of the characteristics that makes Toad unique is its ability to leverage our wealth of domain expertise. Our experts include Bert Scalzo, a highly respected Oracle expert and Steven Feuerstein, one of the world’s leading authorities on PL/SQL. Many of Steven’s coding best-practices are actually embodied in Toad features, ranging from helpful knowledge and advice to flexible and automated code reviews.

In five minutes see how you can save yourself a few seconds every time you want to switch from one schema to another in Toad.

The descriptive name, “Browser”, is part of a number of popular and powerful windows in Toad for Oracle. One of the original Toad windows was the Schema Browser, and there is a lot of existing documentation in Help/Contents and on Toadworld.com. This document will focus on other Browser windows in Toad Oracle: Export File Browser, Trace File Browser, Database Browser (with Schema Objects), Session Browser, Statspack Browser, and AWR Browser.

Ask questions, get answers – and a Toadie!

He wants questions. You want answers (and a Toad). So, ask away – stump the Toad chump!

Introduction

Since the official release of Toad by Quest Software in 1998, the way the product has been licensed hasn’t changed, and this has created some challenges such as flexibility and consistency with other products from Quest. However, a new form of licensing was introduced with the release of Toad for Oracle v10.0 in October 2009.



As a Toad user, particularly if you work for a large organization,...

Ever spin up a database for some quick and dirty work, and you JUST WANT TO CONNECT (!!) without going through the whole ‘add the service to your local TNSNames.ORA’ rigmarole (Oracle Net Configuration Assistant)? Oracle’s Net Configuration Assistant was one of the first JAVA powered GUIs I had run into as an Oracle user. It has been improved greatly over the past few years, but I’m pretty sure there are still much faster ways to connect to the database.

...

Are you a PL/SQL developer? Do you think your IDE should promote better coding practices, and guide you to build more robust and reliable programs? If so, then Toad v11 might be just the IDE you are looking for.

Toad version 11 introduces a new feature in the Professional and higher editions — Code Analysis.

As you develop your PL/SQL code, Toad will highlight any code that violates its set of best practice...

The last day of the Adv PL/SQL class covers large objects and TOAD Debugging and Profiling Tools

Hi! Watch for my blogs on SQL Tuning and PL/SQL Tips and Techniques.



Right now I am teaching the Advanced PL/SQL class for a client over the web. I'll keep you posted with how it is going. 

I am focused on training and Quest Software and I have worked out an arrangement where I teach my popular Oracle SQL Tuning for Developers using TOAD and Advanced PL/SQL Tips and Techniques using TOAD (and of course...

When working with Toad wouldn't it be great to be able to color coordinate the user interface per connection and your screens based on my connectivity? This paper will discuss the ability to do color coding of our database connections as well as the associated screens for each of these connections.

Many of us have the ability to work in different schemas such as Development and or Test. It can be very difficult to...

A few years ago I wrote a blog titled “Run Toad off a USB Flash Drive”. It’s been a fairly popular blog, but it’s also quite out dated now – so I thought I’d update it.

The original blog had several shortcomings – mainly that it was specific to (i.e. only tested against) the current version of Toad at...

Toad is a powerful tool. It can do a lot of work in a short amount of time. This work can be destructive. I maintain both a development and production instance. How bad would it be if I accidently dropped or truncated a table mistakenly in the wrong database?

Of course I can only perform the tasks in the database which my login privileges allow. Even with all the safeguards, we can, and often do, still make mistakes.

...

For all you Oracle DBAs out there, have you often wished there was a better way to manage your Oracle RMAN backups? Have you often asked yourself - is there some way to have a single, consolidated report of which backups executed successfully, which failed, what type they were, how much space they consumed, whether there were policy violations, some sort of health check?

he Oracle Development Tools User Group’s (ODTUG) annual convention in Long Beach, CA kicks off on a Sunday with several Symposiums. There will be one dedicated to tools (link), and I’ve been asked to present Toad and how it helps with instrumenting your PL/SQL code.

- ODTUG KScope11 June 26-30 (Details) -

One of the organizer’s chastised me for using Twitter hashtags in my session description – he’s probably...

It’s not uncommon after a database has been in use for a short while for the UNDO tablespace to grow “artificially” large. In my case I have a little local database on my notebook where the UNDO started at 100 MB and over about a month’s time grew to over 3 GB. Since I backup my notebook’s local database by simply shutting the database and zipping up the %ORACLE_HOME%\oradata\SID directory – my zips take longer to compress...

You have some SQL in your PL/SQL program, and you need to execute it to see if it’s doing what you want. Today that means you need to extract the inputs, replace with binds, and remove the INTO syntax.

What if Toad had a ‘magic button’ to do this work for you?

In version 11, this long requested feature will become a reality. Actually if you are participating in the Toad for Oracle Beta program,...

My first experiment with SlideShare!

Interested in a free training session for Toad for Oracle? In about 60 minutes I can go over most of the features Toad has to offer for someone who works with PL/SQL. Take a look at the below presentation, and if you are interested, let me know. I can schedule a presentation for your team!

I will also deliver this presentation at BrainSurface.com with Bert Scalzo. Link/Invite...

Your Problem: You receive code from developers who do not have access to Toad, or choose not to take advantage of Toad’s SQL & PL/SQL Formatter. Before checking their code into your source control repository, you need to format them so they meet your standards.

The Solution: Toad for Oracle’s Automation Designer.



Toad’s Automation Designer originally debuted as the ‘AppDesigner’ in version 9.7 (tutorial.)

...

Toad for Oracle version 10.6 directly supports Microsoft’s Team Foundation Server 2010. Previous versions of Toad supported TFS 2005 and 2008 only.

 

Also with Toad 10.6, we have aligned all the VCS support in Toad so it makes no difference whether or not you want to use Team Coding; file-based version control supports the same VCS providers.

 

I've created a PDF document ...

I recently received this email:

Hi Steven, I am looking for tools to measure code quality and via which you can drill  down to the problem areas and for tools to refactor PL/SQL. Recently we insourced a team that is doing maintenance on an Oracle product. We are an Agile company and are now in the process of transforming the team to a Scrum team. The other teams develop Java desktop applications and have all the means to support Agile development. As a Scrum master of the insourced team I want to stimulate the team to explore ways to improve PL/SQL code quality, small steps at a time.  An important aspect of Scrum is continuous improvement. One of the bigger problems I see is code duplication....

Everyone likes to read into numbers and significant dates. Numerology (wiki) attributes a connection from the world of numbers to the physical world. Even though I don’t believe in such things, I can’t help but take advantage of the opportunity to focus on the number ‘11.’

It’s eleventh day of 2011.

Toad’s Development Manager is celebrating his 11th year on the development team.

Toad for Oracle v11...

I have been really hard on Excel lately. Excel is an excellent tool. Tools can be misused and abused, but it’s not their fault. I should know this being an advocate for Toad, but I digress.

You want to get data from Oracle to an MSFT Excel spreadsheet. You have Toad. I know of at least 3 ways you can do this. Each...

I replied to a TOAD user question a few days back on our TOAD Yahoo group in response to a question about why TOAD seemingly did not audit their DDL commands when they had in fact successfully turned on database auditing. If you’re connected as SYS or any other user with either the SYSDBA or SYSOPER connection option (highlighted in the screen snapshot below), then your commands are not audited in any tool unless that database’s initialization parameter for AUDIT_SYS_OPERATIONS = TRUE.

...

I occasionally get asked by DBAs and managers how to make Toad read-only. The reasons for this are various, but mostly have to do with safeguarding the security and integrity of the database from those Toad users whose job does not require them to make any changes.

 

Toad is such a powerful tool, it could allow its user to perform a DDL change, execute a script or alter some table data before they realize they...

There are SO many little nuggets in Toad that you can take advantage of. To list all of them would be a daunting task. Here’s one that you may have overlooked, Custom Queries.

If you right-mouse-click on an object in the Schema Browser, you’ll see a list of operations you can perform. Take a second to look at the list for ‘Tables’. I have 36 operations available. The very last entry is ‘Custom Queries.’

So what...

I’ve written several blogs over the past couple years on how to speed up TOAD when its screens or utilities seem to take minutes instead of seconds. In many cases (i.e. Oracle versions 10.X and 11.X), the case is often that the DBA is not manually collecting statistics on the data dictionary – that many believe that Oracle does this all “Auto-Magically” for them. And as you can see in those various blogs – it does not.

...

  I am a business user, so why say to me “it ran for 0.049 days”?

 All too often I see reports created by technical staff and DBAs being presented to management and business users with elapsed times (such as concurrent request run times) calculated in days or seconds and this often causes frustration amongst report recipients. 

 In this blog I will show you how to convert date and time format to something more business user friendly…

This blog presents solutions for two symptoms we commonly hear from Toad for Oracle customers: Invalid characters in the data grids and invalid characters in the Editor.

Ok, I admit, I threw that title up because I wanted to draw attention to my blog, guilty-as-charged. However, this is pretty close to being my ‘Toad Bible‘, i.e. my authoritative take on Toad. I reckon it’s my job to educate the market on all things Toad, so that’s where the authoritative piece comes in. I will leave that to my readers and followers to determine if that is true.

Maybe I should call it my Ph.D. dissertation...

No, we have not added native support for Toad to run on a platform other than Windows. No, I can’t tell you when that will happen. In the meantime, I thought you might enjoy a story about someone who has successfully setup his iPad to run Toad. @BigJim is a friend of mine on Twitter and he reached out to me to let me know he had been able to set this up....

A lot of times people will post an issue to the Toad discussion forum or email me offline about Toad running too slow and what can they do. I’ve always told them to run the following two commands to correct the problem:

Step by step instructions for changing the colour of report text based on the text’s value

ERD – Fancy way of saying Entity-Relationship Diagram

Since version 10.0 of Toad for Oracle, users have been able to select a table and have an ERD generated that automatically includes any related tables via Referential Integrity.

However, what if you are trying to document a view which may bring in one or more other views and any number of tables? Fortunately Toad has a diagramming feature that is not limited...

Just this week, I was on-site with a customer and learned about a neat feature of Toad for Oracle 10.x’s new data grid component. Apparently, you can view parent table data from a child record. This was news to me.

Now there is a brand new, exciting way to share your ideas for things you would like to see in Toad for Oracle. You can also validate ideas that we or other users propose. www.ToadIdeaPond.com. With the Toad Idea Pond, you can sign in with your existing Yahoo account or create a new account.

A little known feature in TOAD is the ability to monitor and track both the database’s disk space usage and disk IO patterns. Moreover TOAD offers the ability to perform projections for each as well.

Step by step instructions for hiding TOAD Report Manager report rows with no data – including example report

This is not a volley in the RDMBS wars. This is a quick cheat sheet for getting started using Toad for SQL Server if you are already used to using Toad for Oracle.

I really should be more honest. In this case I’m referring to the title of this blog. ‘Sneak Peek’ infers I’m being naughty and showing you something that is secret or not available to the masses. The real story here is that any licensed user of Toad current on maintenance is able to participate in Toad’s Beta Program which runs 24x7x12.

Version 10.6 is tentatively scheduled to be released this Fall. In the mean-time,...

I wrote a blog a few weeks back titled TOAD 10.5 Freeware Runs on Linux. So here comes the second and more important part for many – getting the official commercial product installed and working on Linux. And to me great and very happy surprise, the install simply worked. Look at the screen snapshot below. It shows that I now have both the TOAD freeware and commercial installed and working side by side on my Ubuntu 10.04 Linux machine. Hurray!

...

Toad is a robust and mature tool – so there are many more features than most of us can ever hope to master. But one that’s very useful yet widely unknown is the ability in the Schema Browser to perform intelligent/contextual jumps to related items.

What’s the first thing we learn when it comes to databases and/or SQL? Odds are it was how to write a SQL statement to retrieve data from one or more tables.

Step by step instructions for change a TOAD Manager reports name and or category

Today I want to talk about something that should be beneficial to any person who has ever needed to connect to an Oracle database, comparing data.

I’m running Toad for Oracle 10.5 freeware “natively via WINE” on Linux – specifically Ubuntu 10.04. Therefore you can now run the world’s favorite Oracle database tool on Linux. Goodbye Windows!

Quest recently released a new and updated version of the Toad for Oracle freeware. The old freeware was based on the old Toad 8.5 code base which came out before 10gR2, 11gR1, and 11gR2. So for example it had some problems supporting database versions and features that came out years later (e.g. 11g case sensitive passwords). The new freeware is based off the latest and...

It’s been about 2 weeks now, and I’ve already found a few things that’s I’d consider ‘upgrade worthy’ regarding Toad for Oracle v10.5. Whether they be groundbreaking new features, or just convenient behavioral updates, here a few things to look for when you’re ready to upgrade.

The first blog on this topic demonstrated the two primary methods by which to automate a DBA task in Toad such as the popular Database Health Check report. We saw that either using the “DB Health Check” screen (i.e. METHOD-#1) or the “App Designer” directly (i.e. METHOD-#2) how to create the automated task or action – plus how to schedule it and...

Wouldn’t it be nice to have an email message every morning in your inbox regarding the relative health of your databases – specifically only exception type reporting for those that have issues? That way you could “hit the ground running” each morning and address any problems as soon as you read your email. With “Toad® DBA Suite for Oracle” you can easily setup receiving such automated database health check problem reports via email in just a few simple steps. Furthermore, you can also share all such automated Toad task definitions via email.

...

Step by step instructions for calling a procedure from a TOAD Manager Report

Republished from John Pocknell's Blog

I thought that’d grab your attention!  



We know there are a lot of PL/SQL developers out there who are looking to make (or have already made) a break into application development using a more popular programming language like Java as well as many Java developers who use Toad to make access to Oracle easier.  

According to a 2006 IOUG survey of Oracle sites,...

With the release of v10.5 imminent for Toad for Oracle, I thought I take a second to show where Toad has come and where it’s going.

In this Part 2 blog, I will look at features typically associated with database administration as well as other general enhancements.

The very latest generation of Toad for Oracle is about to hit the streets (mid April) so I thought I’d give you a quick preview now so you’ll be up to speed when it’s released.

This may be the most misleading blog title of all time. This ‘new’ way of debugging is actually the oldest and true-est form of debugging. What’s new is that Toad now allows you to run your programs and inspect the variables post-execution via DBMS_OUTPUT without coding any of the DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE () statements.

For those of you who have already upgraded from an older version of Toad to Toad version 10, you will no doubt notice some visual changes and behavioural differences in the data grids.

 

Our Toad development team wrote an article highlighting these differences which is posted in the Toad for Oracle Community, but in case you missed it, here is the content produced in this blog so that you are all aware.

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Step by step instructions for creating TOAD Report Manager charts

Once again I was reminded how seemingly simple and common-sense features in Toad are frequently overlooked and yet also provide huge differentiation from other database tools out there. If this topic sounds familiar, it’s because I covered it back in 2008 for Toad for Data Analysts.

While doing a customer visit locally here in the Triangle at a local university, the audience I was presenting to was predominately using a competitor’s product. I won’t mention them by name, but let’s just say the audience was using the tool, but maybe saw room for improvement. The challenge thrown down to me was simple:

...

A full preview is in the works, but sometimes a new feature is so compelling you just want to start telling strangers on the street about it right away. Rather than make you wait till tomorrow to hear all about Apple’s new tablet device, here’s some juicy Toad gossip right now!

 

DESCribe

Perhaps one of the most productivity-enhancing features in Toad, the DESC (F4) command allows the user to get access...

A simple, step by step guide for creating TOAD Report Manager reports and templates (TRD -TOAD Report Definition format).

Oracle Real Application Cluster (RAC) is a single database that is shared by multiple Oracle instances. It provides opportunities for improved database availability, performance and scalability. Oracle RAC lowers the TCO of a high-end database and IT assets, since a complex Oracle database can be set-up on low-cost, standard, modular parts. Oracle RAC has matured into a true enterprise, scalable solution, but the adoption curve and skill-set required to maintain RAC is relatively slow, as most organizations who have installed RAC only use it as a two-node cluster.

...

An exhaustive look at Toad, that doesn’t take that long to read and see immediate improvement in your day-to-day use of the tool. If you are new to Toad, this will shorten the learning curve. If you have been using Toad for 10 years, this will ensure you are not overlooking features or workflows that have snuck in while you weren’t looking.

One of the most common TOAD questions or problem areas is with connecting to remote and/or local databases. The process and requirements are actually quite simple – yet this remains a high frequency question that seems to cause remarkable confusion. And not just for new Oracle or new TOAD users, as sometimes even old pros can forget and ask. They just often do a Homer Simpson “Doh”...

For those of you who haven’t yet upgraded to Toad 10, or were perhaps waiting until the first minor release, here’s a quick synopsis of what really characterizes Toad 10.

 

Toad for Oracle v10 offers new features and many enhancements to existing features, all of it designed to augment your workflow and to enable you to get your job done more productively, more accurately and with better visibility of the environment...

Step by step instructions for importing and exporting TOAD Report Manager reports (TRD -TOAD Report Definition format).

Toad for Oracle is a world-class enterprise query-develop-tune-administration tool for the Oracle database platform. This document attempts to differentiate Toad from the average Oracle IDE or query tool so that the reader can make an informed decision to invest in the Toad product family.

Following is a list of features and concepts that most commercial and even freeware offerings strive to deliver. Each feature will demonstrate clearly how Toad rises above the competition. If you can live with only the lowest-common-denominator features, then Toad may not be an easy sell. If, however, you need a tool to rescue from hairy situations, tune your systems, and automate those painful daily tasks, then Toad should be a clear winner.

...

Many TOAD users ask “How can I run my SQL script against a collection or even all my databases all at once (i.e. in a single step)?” The problem is they generally ask this question while in the Editor – which by definition works with but a single active database connection at a time. But if you simply save the editor contents to a SQL script file – you can then use the TOAD Script Manager to execute that script against any...

Often database professionals need good freeware tools to get their job done. Sometimes it’s because there’s no funding for software. And in some cases a tool is needed to replace the purchased tool that ends up not being able to do the job. Finally in today’s world of open source, some people just hate to pay for tools – even if there is budget and/or the job clearly could benefit from commercial quality tools.

For...

Quick, what’s the number one complaint about Toad for Oracle?

“The User Interface is waaaaaaaaay too complicated!”



Out of the box, Toad’s setup to pretty much have everything enabled. If we hid stuff, there’s a good chance users would assume the functionality just wasn’t there to be taken advantage of.  And, as John so elegantly put it in his latest whitepaper on QuestDotCom,...

Many people these days have to work on both traditional “online transactional processing” (i.e. OLTP) systems as well as data warehouses. But just what is a data warehouse? Generally speaking a data warehouse is nothing more than a specialized business reporting system used by mid to senior level management to research and develop a tactical plan and/or true long term strategy. Thus in many cases while these systems may be considered mission critical, they are not really true 24 X 7 systems. Often data warehouses are utilized during normal to extended business hours, with some batch activities for data loading and aggregation/summary calculations.

...

I want to start by thanking everyone who participated in the free TOAD book contest by submitting new feature ideas or enhancement requests. I received numerous good ideas. I also received about a third that were already in TOAD – and have been for a long time.  I actually can benefit from those emails too, since Quest can probably better expose and/or offer training on those issues. Remember too this was an entirely subjective...

Oracle introduced support for XML in the relational database going back at least to about the 8i release. Toad for Oracle introduced formal support for XML in the 8.0 release.

XML and Toad v8.0 – v9.7



As you browse or query an object, if it contains an XML

...

So with Toad v10 being released, my Tips & Tricks guide became a bit out of date.  You can find an updated copy, as well as our v9 copy, here.  All of your favorite keyboard shortcuts and workflows remain largely unchanged, so this is more of an update for making sure screenshots and naming conventions are correct...

TOAD offers three distinct ways to connect to your database, as shown by the three tabs circled below on the connection screen. In this week’s blog we’ll examine the differences between the first two: TNS and Direct. No matter which of the three methods you choose, TOAD requires the Oracle “SQL*Net” client to be on your PC. TOAD needs to talk over the network to your database, and that requires certain Oracle network DLL files...

The very latest generation of Toad for Oracle is about to hit the streets (early October) so we thought we’d give you a quick preview now so you’ll be up to speed when it’s released. This blog is part 2 and covers more of the new features and updates.

As DBAs it seems that we are always faced with issues of Database Performance. As gate keepers to our multiple database environments many of our Service Level Agreements (SLA's) can be directly tied into the health of our databases. Working with Quest's Toad solution we can now take a comprehensive look at the health of our databases with the DB Health Check.  Note: This Toad feature is only available in the commercial version...

The very latest generation of Toad for Oracle is about to hit the streets (early October) so we thought we’d give you a quick preview now so you’ll be up to speed when it’s released.

(Originally posted to Toad World as at Toad for Oracle Tutorial)

Introduction Project Structure What Can I Put in a Project? How do I Add Something to my Project? PM Operations Drag-N-Drop...

While TOAD offers numerous capabilities, many people often spend a majority of their time simply “browsing” existing table data. Even when writing SQL or PL/SQL code to perform some business function or action, developers need to see what the data looks like in order to write the code. And of course business analysts and managers often look at the data in order to spot patterns or drive report design. For these needs people...

Under the Editor menu in Toad for Oracle we have the “Make Code” & “Strip Code” features which allow you to embed SQL Statements in a programming language of your choice.

 

For example you can take the following statement:

SELECT   b.order_date, d.price, a.cust_id, a.NAME, c.qty, d.part_id,         d.qty_on_hand    FROM quest_dev.ow_customers a, quest_dev.ow_orders b, quest_dev.ow_order_lines c, quest_dev.ow_parts...

One critical task for DBA's is maintaining their database versioning history. For example the database objects were in some specified state (in terms of their construction) on such and such a date. The key reason this is critical is that application updates and bug fixes often require database modifications. So the DBA must maintain a database versioning history that matches such changes. There are two chief reasons for this:...

This blog explains specific areas of the editor in Toad® for Oracle 9.x that provide “built-in” SQL code, re-usable code, areas to customize your own code, and immediate access to SQL transactions you have saved or previously executed. Nearly all of these code areas can be accessed from within the Editor, while other windows allow drag and drop functionality into the Editor.

If you use the Toad Editor every day, these...

This is the 3rd of 3 blogs on Toad for Oracle DBA features

This is the 2nd of 3 blogs on Toad for Oracle DBA features

We all come from different backgrounds... some of us are old Toadies, and some of us are used to different tools. Did you know that Toad for Data Analysts can be configured to act and look much like Toad for Oracle and many other tools? Even down to the keyboard shortcuts? I'll show you how.

This is the first of 3 blogs on DBA features in Toad for Oracle

We got an interesting question into our sales support queue this week. A new Toad user was frustrated because they weren’t seeing the type of feedback they were used to seeing in SQL Navigator.

 

Have you ever had a need to recover data? Have you ever looked at data or maybe scripts and thought something is not correct? When working with databases there are times when we may have a loss of data or files. Has this ever happened and there is no backup information to rely on?

 

During my time as both a Developer and DBA I have worked with numerous Oracle export file (dmp files). Often I could be...

This blog recaps a few of the major highlights that Jeff covers in a typical two hour Toad for Oracle tips and tricks session.

Dan Hotka and I wrote the TOAD Handbook back in 2003. Of course since then TOAD has changed quite a bit – both in terms of the graphical user interface and functionality. Thus we have updated the content and created the TOAD Handbook 2nd Edition,...

As many of you may be aware, Toad for Oracle is available in a number of different Editions and Suites. For those of you who have Toad Development Suite for Oracle or Toad DBA Suite for Oracle, there are a number of recent product updates which you can take advantage of now (GA Release Date July 8th) rather than waiting for the next full scheduled release of Toad (due in October).

The below listed products are, of...

You may already be familiar with the Toad World Exclusive Freeware area from where you can download and use really useful utilities such as the PL/Vision Code Library and the Freeware version of Quest Code Tester for Oracle.

 

Well here is another utility you’re going to find really interesting and it’s called the Toad Group Policy Manager.

 

As you probably figured out from its name, it has something...

You may already be familiar with the Toad World Exclusive Freeware area from where you can download and use really useful utilities such as the PL/Vision Code Library and the Freeware version of Quest Code Tester for Oracle.

 

Now there are two more which I’d like to introduce you to – one which has been around for many years and the other a relative newcomer.

 

The first one is called SQL Monitor....

Written by Olivier Gaudin

 

Toad for Oracle’s Code Xpert utility (part of the Toad Professional Edition) is one of the best PL/SQL code analyzers available on the market, embedding the know-how of leading PL/SQL experts such as Steven Feuerstein. However, although there is the option to store data in the Code Xpert repository for point-in-time reporting, it is still primarily a static reporting tool and therefore...

As I promised earlier, the focus of this blog entry will be using the Editor in Toad for Data Analysts. The Editor is where you can enter your own SQL code to query the database. Since you’re already familiar with Toad for Oracle’s Editor, you’ll notice some similarities in Toad for Data Analysts. Hopefully, these similarities will...

In Part III of this series of blogs, I’ll discuss the Query Builder in Toad for Data Analysts. In my previous entry, I said that I would talk about both the Editor and the Query Builder in Part III. Both features are so rich that I feel that separating the topics would be the best approach. So, we’ll focus on the Query Builder for this topic. 

...

Running Toad for Oracle in a 64 bit environment is really pretty easy and straight-forward, you just have to follow the installation instructions and verify your environment is setup properly. I have created a short Power Point that shows the steps you need to follow. These instructions come directly from the installation guide as well. I hope this helps you with your installation. Mark

So if you’re reading this blog, hopefully that means you’ve just finished watching my ‘Discover the Hidden Treasures of Toad for Oracle, Developers’ presentation at our 2009 Toad Virtual Expo. If not, then you can still watch this 45 minute presentation for the immediate 60 days after the conference.

What I wanted to do here is go into a little bit more detail than what I could deliver in a powerpoint presentation. I’ll try to add a little flavor to the ‘Hidden Treasures’ we exposed for developers and point you to some other resources on ToadWorld that might help you on your way.

...

In this blog, I hope to be able to help you understand how Unicode is handled on your Windows PC/notebook and how to configure your PC/notebook in order to be able to effectively use Unicode in Toad.

Previously, we discussed how to establish connections to the database. If you’re interested in a refresher, the entry can be found here: http://www.toadworld.com/Community/Blogs/tabid/67/EntryID/382/Default.aspx Now that we’ve connected to the database, we’ll examine how to work with the database objects. 

 

Where are my...

As some of you may already be aware, we are releasing our next version of Toad (version 10.0) later this year and it will have one or two “under the cover” differences. Unicode support is one of those differences and is probably one of the most significant technology upgrades in Toad’s history.

In humble tribute to the great southern comedian, Jeff Foxworthy, I thought I’d try a send up on this popular theme as it pertains to Toad. So here goes. If you have your own suggestions, just leave them as comments at the end of the blog!

The ‘ribbet’ sound announces to your cube-mates what time you’ve made it into work. Did you know you can disable the ‘ribbet’ and customize Toad to play any .WAV file you want?...

In this series of blog topics, I will attempt to translate certain features in Toad for Data Analysts for those of you who are more familiar with Toad for Oracle. As you may (or may not) know, Quest Software allows licensed owners of Toad for Oracle 9.7 to use Toad for Data Analysts free of charge! Toad for Data Analysts is Quest Software’s cross-database platform Query and Reporting tool. For Developers and DBAs who work predominately in Oracle, but have the need to query and/or report against other database platforms (SQL Server, DB2, and Sybase, just to name a few), then the pairing of Toad for Oracle and Toad for Data Analysts is for you. 

...

I recently performed 3 separate Toad for Oracle web demonstrations for a large company in the payroll and human resources industry.  Rather than a general overview of all Toad features, these 3 demos were customized for 3 different types of Toad users: DBA's, Analysts, and Developers.

This group of DBA's had used Toad for years, but had not upgraded recently.  As I have mentioned in previous posts, there has been a substantial amount of functionality for DBA's added to Toad in recent releases - just download the latest version.  Johannes' Toadworld blog has an excellent 3 part series on the Toad DBA Suite.

...

When you ask Oracle for an execution plan with Toad, we insert the plan into a plan table (configurable by the user.) Wow, that’s 36 pieces of information that could be included in every single plan step. Now, when Toad shows you a plan for a query, it chooses to show only the most common pieces of information.

While we are still quite a few months away from officially releasing the next version of Toad for Oracle, there are a few exciting developments to share with you today. Of course, you can follow the development of the next version of Toad yourself via the beta program, but we realize not everyone has the bandwidth to do so. Most years will see at least 2 releases of Toad. However,...

Like most applications, Preferences or Options enable the user to make changes to the default configuration to suit the way they work. The same is true for Toad but there are so many, it can be a bit of a challenge finding what you are looking for.

So the objective of this blog is to help you get a handle on what the main options are that you probably need to know about.

Some Toad Options are set during the Toad...

This was a question I got this morning from a customer. I showed them how to do this with the ‘Alter’ dialog in Toad’s Schema Browser. However, they wanted to do it for more than one table at a time, and apparently some OTHER tool could do so. Why couldn’t Toad?

Great question. It turns out that IT CAN INDEED do so. Here’s how:



Step 0: Open the ‘Rebuild Multiple Objects’ window



...

I had a very productive visit with an information management company, demonstrating the complete range of Toad solutions, including the Toad Development and DBA Suite for Oracle, Toad for SQL Server, as well as Toad for Data Analysts. The presentation took place in Boston, and dialed in through a webcast were attendees in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Belfast, and Bangalore. This visit was scheduled well in advance, and we...

I think we can all agree that of ALL the features in Toad that impact the most number of users is the data grid. Whether investigating the contents of a table, running queries, or monitoring connected sessions in the Session Browser, the data grids deliver information to the user. How well you know the data grid and all of its embedded features will impact how useful and productive you are for your employer.

We often...

While co-presenting with Bert at the Rocky Mountain Oracle User group, Bert yells out “Hey, show that cool FK lookup thingie in the data grids.” I was like, ‘huh?’ Surely Bert just didn’t call me out in front of 100 or so people on a Toad feature that I did not fully understand?

Well, I got around to figuring out just what Bert was talking about, and NOW I remember what all the fuss was about. This feature was added...

A lot of times people will ask the Toad Yahoo discussion group or live at Toad Tips & Tricks events whether Toad can do something. Specifically, the question might be more like can Toad version X support this very cool new Oracle feature I’d like to leverage.

 

For example, a user might ask does Toad 8.0 offer a screen for Oracle AWR. If you look back at my earlier Toad World blog about Toad versus Oracle versions,...

By Johannes Ahrends and John Pocknell

In the previous blog, we compared and contrasted how database Performance Management operations are performed in Oracle’s Enterprise Manager (OEM) and Quest’s Toad DBA Suite for Oracle and how Toad is an excellent complement to OEM because it simplifies and automates many tasks which would...

In part 1 of this series, I reviewed the automated refactoring features in SQL Developer. In part 2, I checked out PL/SQL Developer's refactoring features. Now, it's time for Toad.

 

Differently from both PL/SQL Developer and SQL Developer, Toad does not have...

By Johannes Ahrends and John Pocknell

In the previous blog, we compared and contrasted how Database Maintenance operations are performed in Oracle’s Enterprise Manager (OEM) and Quest’s Toad DBA Suite for Oracle and how Toad is an excellent complement to OEM because it simplifies and automates many tasks which would take longer in OEM.

...

The joint IOUG and OAUG Collaborate 2009 conference is a just over two months away. Not only is Collaborate a premier event for Oracle database technology and applications technical sessions, it’s a good format for hobnobbing with fellow database professionals.

 

This year’s event is being held Sunday, May 3rd, through Thursday, May 7th, at the Orlando convention center. I’m taking my family along and fully intend...

I recently got an email from a user, and after I replied figured that it might be helpful for others to see as well.

 

The Question:

“I was at the ROUMG conference and have a question.   You guys showed how to setup a short cut in the options.  Like to do a select statement – you can type in a short cut word and it will do the put the script in.  Like autofinish.

 

I know I need to build...

Like most things in life, there are prerequisites and preparations for Oracle databases.  Regardless of version, this is especially true for application access and usage. Oracle is a highly scalable and configurable database, therefore DBAs must configure their database for how it will be used to guarantee meeting their users’ expectations – including database developers. Failure to do so can lead to perceptions of “slow performance”...

By Johannes Ahrends and John Pocknell This 3-part blog will help you differentiate between what Oracle Enterprise Manager (OEM) offers the DBA compared to Toad DBA Suite for Oracle and how the same tasks are approached using each.

 

Toad DBA Suite for Oracle provides a complete solution for DBAs using Oracle Standard Edition, or in smaller shops where OEM is not being used or as a complementary solution for...

We don’t get this particular question per se as often as one would expect, but we do see enough user problems where this fundamental issue becomes the underlying question to answer for problem resolution. Below is a chart for the release dates for both Toad and Oracle. The “blue highlighted” dates are when Oracle first releases a major new version, such as Oracle 10g in January of 2004. But it’s the “red highlighted” dates...

Oracle explain plans – they are considered by many as critical when optimizing or tuning SQL statements (I however prefer to look at trace data in conjunction with explain plans). For those who prefer primarily to rely on explain plan interpretation, comprehension and improvement – Toad offers numerous capabilities to make the entire process simpler and more productive. Because let’s face it, explain plans are like much proofs...

Is German your native language?  Read this blog in German on Johannes' tech articles page.

A lot of companies with Oracle databases have been using RMAN as their main backup utility for years now. But others are still relying on the classical way by copying data files or even using Oracle export as a backup method. There are several reasons for this,...

I’ve got Toad Freeware installed and running on my Ubuntu 8.10 Linux machine – and so far, not a single problem has yet occurred (knock on wood).

 

Here are the basic steps that I had to perform in order to “Make it so” (as Star Trek Next Generation’s Captain Piccard would say):

Install Ubuntu with Wine – make sure that the Wine version is latest and greatest...

Many business analysts rely heavily upon Microsoft Excel as one of their primary tools for manipulating and reporting upon their business data. Sometimes they will send data extraction requests to their information systems (IS) people to perform and then deliver, sometimes they’ll instead access it themselves in place via the external data interface within Excel, and sometimes they’ll extract the data themselves from the Oracle...

For most users, the significant new feature for v9.7 will be the AppsDesigner. This technology allows a Toad user to take a collection of Toad commands or Actions and create a miniature Toad App or macro that you can then replay on demand or schedule to run when needed.  

Like most new features, you generally will learn how to use them when you are faced with a task that requires said feature. I’d like to share an...

After working with Toad for almost a decade (I think I first saw it as a new grad in ’99…), I tend to start taking things for granted when I do demonstrations for customers or present at conferences on the beauty of Toad. It’s very easy to get excited about CRUD Matrices and the beauty of PL/SQL debuggers, but overlook the critical core features that users often miss out on.

Well, ‘overlook’ is such a critical, judgmental...

Lot’s of people have asked “How can I setup Toad to run off a flash drive?” The reason for this question varies in nature and intent by requestor – but the general concept is that some users need the ability to carry Toad with them. Some are contractors who must use whatever computer and/or desk is open that day. Some are database developers who must travel around their company to perform or assist with various tasks. And...

Catchy title – huh? But don’t laugh, in today’s hectic world many database professionals (whether DBA’s or developers – and sometimes even end users) just wish that the Oracle database would go faster. That may seem self evident – but let’s just accept that premise for now. So what does this mean for Toad users?

 

Toad offers numerous database monitoring, diagnostic and tuning screens or utilities. But not all...

I’ve always been a huge fan of Cary Millsap’s “Method-R” technique for Optimizing Oracle Performance via detailed analysis of all of the business process wait states. It is fundamentally sound since it’s based on genuine business concerns...

Subversion support has been updated in Toad for Oracle 10.6.  Read the updated version of this blog.

Toad for Data Analysis now comes included with Toad for Oracle!

It’s not uncommon for software to increase in install size and memory footprint over the years – and Toad is no exception. But, that does not mean that these newer versions have to run more slowly. We take great pride in keeping Toad expedient as it matures. Thus do not simply assume that if your Toad is running slower these days – that it’s just the “cost of progress”. Most often there are simple steps to keeping Toad humming...

The editor window is probably where most users spend a majority of their time. In this blog, I’ll continue a conversation we had a few weeks ago.  Please note that all of these features are available in the standard edition of Toad for Oracle, version 9.6.

 

6.     Editor Options

  Toad has many options...

 

It’s almost that time again as another exciting new release of Toad draws closer!  We’ve decided that, rather than let you wait until Toad 9.7 is released before you see what’s new, we’ll give you a little fore-taste now!  In this final blog (there are 2 parts), I want to cover what’s new for developers.  

  Data...

It’s almost that time again as another exciting new release of Toad draws closer !  

We’ve decided that, rather than let you wait until Toad 9.7 is released before you see what’s new, we’ll give you a little preview now !  

The main objectives of this release are to provide improved knowledge and education on the wealth of Toad features for users, so that you can really see Toad’s full value and realise you...

The editor window is probably where most users spend a majority of their time. In this blog, I’ll try to highlight the 10 features that will save you the most time when it comes to writing your SQL queries, SQL*Plus scripts, anonymous blocks, and PL/SQL stored procedures. Please note that all of these features are available in the standard edition of Toad for Oracle, version 9.6.

 

1.     SQL Recall

  By...

I have been doing Oracle work for just over two decades – and I’ve probably written thousands of SQL scripts. Many of those were DBA oriented in their task nature, but even application development presents times where SQL scripts are used. For example, the need may arise for the operating systems’ or third party schedulers to invoke a shell script to execute a SQL script to execute some PL/SQL code.

 

Historically...

I know – Toad 9.6 was just released this week – on Aprils Fool’s day no less. But we’ve already been hard at work on the next release (and the beta should start in a few weeks).

 

In last week’s blog, I asked you guys - our customers - to submit ideas for what should be added in Toad 9.7, because as we’ve always said, “Toad is your product, thus you should drive it.” So far though (and to my great disappointment), no one has commented. So I’m going to “prime the pump” by leaking some things prior to the first 9.7 beta, to hopefully stimulate you guys to chime in – and help us to drive Toad to where you want it to go.

...

As of April 1, 2008, if you are a current on maintenance and are using at least version 9.6 of Toad for Oracle, you will have complete access to our PL/SQL, Stored Java Source, and SQL*Plus script debugger regardless of your edition of Toad. Since the debugger made its debut in version 6.3 released all the way back in February of 2000, the functionality has been offered as a premium in Toad for Oracle.

Well, a few things...

An increasingly common question these days is does Toad support Oracle RAC (i.e. Real Application Clusters)? And if so – how, when and where?

 

HOW: There is nothing special required to support a RAC connection, other than a properly constructed tnsnames.ora file. Probably the best source for a correct RAC aware tnsnames.ora file should be your DBA. But I've included an example below. Some people ask why three...

If you’re a loyal reader, you may remember a blog I published WAAAAAAAY back in July of last year. A few things have changed since then. Users now have 2 different Toad tools to help them get data from Excel merged into the data they already have access to in the Oracle database.  

A Brief Problem Description

...

One key task for many DBAs is maintaining a database version control or change revision history. Database version control affords the DBA the ability to restore the database to any prior state, or to detect unplanned database revisions that cause the database to be out of compliance with its specification. One could argue that the latter scenario would unlikely happen in a well controlled production environment – however sometimes...

Sometimes people will request that Toad have a certain special new feature, often special to the task at hand which they’re trying to accomplish. Keeping in mind my recent Toad blog about SQL*Plus compatibility, there are very often easy ways to use existing Toad features to do what they want.  In fact, many times it’s simply...

There are many different types of Toad® users, and since job titles and descriptions vary so widely, it’s tough to say a typical Toad user looks like this and thus needs this. Thus Toad has evolved over time to meet the ever growing needs of our customers. Quest has two key Toad Yahoo discussion groups to facilitate the evolution and revolution of Toad The first group, groups.yahoo.com/group/toad, provides a useful and...

I was initially planning on writing up a review of the new Statspack support in Toad version 9.5 for my next blog, but I wanted to make sure all of our Toad users were aware of the new installation process first!



There are a few things you need to know before you go to upgrade your copy of Toad.  Let’s go over them very quickly so you can start using the latest and greatest copy of your favorite software...

Probably one of the most useful and frequented tasks performed with Toad® for Oracle is saving data to a file, such as comma delimited text (or any of the other numerous formats supported). It’s a relatively easy feature to find – you simply depress the “right hand mouse” (RHM) while anywhere within the displayed data grid and choose the “save as” option as shown below, but what if you could make that save operation run 10X...

OK – now that I grabbed your full attention with that snappy title, let’s see just how to run the Toad® on your Linux desktop or notebook. Let’s say that you’re running Redhat, CentOS, SuSE or Ubuntu Linux on your PC, let’s further assume that you would like to run Toad either commercial or freeware on that PC against your local or remote Oracle database. But shoot, Toad is a Windows only program – so what’s a body to do?

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Every software product has a feature or widget that is extremely powerful, but finds a way to confuse more people than it enlightens. That is not to say that the feature is poorly designed or implemented, but who can really say they understand and use 100% of an item’s potential?



A few of my personal...

Often people will write or call to relate that Toad® seems sluggish when working against Oracle 10g databases – and that creating new connections in particular seems to take an unreasonably long time. They are often especially frustrated since this problem did not occur with Oracle versions prior to 10g. So what is Toad doing that’s wrong (i.e. a bug)?

The short answer is that this is an Oracle 10g DBA best practices...

A common task for DBAs is to create a test or development environment that has a subset of production data for testing and development purposes. As usual, Toad® offers a feature for doing just that – the Data Subset Wizard, found under main menu Database-> Export->Data Subset Wizard.



There are two common scenarios where...

Last week, Jeff Smith’s blog on the FTP utility in Toad® was very good. He even says at the end that “If you like Toad’s FTP, then I recommend you check out the REXEC and TELNET features as well.” That made me think – it probably would be nice just to see a list of all the UNIX and Linux capabilities within Toad in one article....

Starting with Oracle 9i, Oracle recommends that SQL developers use the ANSI join syntax instead of the Oracle proprietary (+) syntax. There are several reasons for this recommendation, including:

Easier to segregate and read (without mixing up join versus restriction code) Easier to construct join code correctly (especially in the case of “outer” joins) Portable syntax will work on all other ANSI compliant...

It’s no secret that I am a die hard Toad® fanatic. There are many reasons for this, but the one I want to talk about today is one of Toad’s best kept secrets: a commercial-grade FTP client built right into Toad!

  Older versions of Toad can find ‘FTP’ under the ‘File’ menu.

Yes, Toad DOES have its very own fully-functional...

We decided that, rather than let you wait until the next release of Toad before you see what’s new, we’ll give you a little fore-taste now!

For those of you who already participate in the Toad Beta Testing program (www.toadsoft.com ), you will no doubt, have already played with this. I would encourage as many of you as possible to join, if you can make the time, since you have...