Workbench en

MySQL Workbench
Abstract
This is the MySQL™ Workbench Reference Manual. It documents the MySQL Workbench Community and MySQL
Workbench Commercial Editions 8.0 through 8.0.22.
If you have not yet installed the MySQL Workbench Community Edition, please download your free copy from the
download site. The MySQL Workbench Community Edition is available for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux.
MySQL Workbench platform support evolves over time. For the latest platform support information, see https://
www.mysql.com/support/supportedplatforms/workbench.html.
For notes detailing the changes in each release, see the MySQL Workbench Release Notes.
For legal information, including licensing information, see the Preface and Legal Notices.
For help with using MySQL, please visit the MySQL Forums, where you can discuss your issues with other MySQL
users.
Document generated on: 2020-11-20 (revision: 68067)

Table of Contents
Preface and Legal Notices ................................................................................................................ vii
1 General Information ......................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 What Is New in MySQL Workbench ...................................................................................... 1
1.1.1 New in MySQL Workbench 8.0 Release Series ........................................................... 1
1.1.2 New in MySQL Workbench 6.0 Release Series ........................................................... 6
1.2 MySQL Workbench Editions ................................................................................................ 53
2 Installation ..................................................................................................................................... 55
2.1 System Requirements ......................................................................................................... 55
2.2 Command-Line Options ...................................................................................................... 57
2.3 MySQL Workbench on Windows ......................................................................................... 58
2.3.1 Installing .................................................................................................................. 58
2.3.2 Launching ................................................................................................................ 59
2.3.3 Uninstalling .............................................................................................................. 59
2.4 MySQL Workbench on Linux ............................................................................................... 60
2.4.1 Installing .................................................................................................................. 60
2.4.2 Launching ................................................................................................................ 63
2.4.3 Uninstalling .............................................................................................................. 64
2.5 MySQL Workbench on macOS ........................................................................................... 65
2.5.1 Installing .................................................................................................................. 65
2.5.2 Launching ................................................................................................................ 66
2.5.3 Uninstalling .............................................................................................................. 66
3 Configuration ................................................................................................................................. 67
3.1 User Accessibility Options ................................................................................................... 67
3.2 Workbench Preferences ...................................................................................................... 71
3.2.1 General Editors Preferences ..................................................................................... 72
3.2.2 SQL Editor Preferences ........................................................................................... 73
3.2.3 Administration Preferences ....................................................................................... 80
3.2.4 Modeling Preferences .............................................................................................. 81
3.2.5 Fonts and Colors Preferences .................................................................................. 86
3.2.6 SSH Preferences ..................................................................................................... 87
3.2.7 Other Preferences .................................................................................................... 89
3.3 MySQL Workbench Settings and Log Files .......................................................................... 90
3.4 Common Preferences and Configurations ............................................................................ 92
4 Home Screen Tab ......................................................................................................................... 95
5 Connections in MySQL Workbench ................................................................................................ 99
5.1 Creating A New MySQL Connection (Simple) ...................................................................... 99
5.2 Creating A New MySQL Connection (Tutorial) .................................................................... 100
5.3 Manage Server Connections ............................................................................................. 111
5.3.1 Standard TCP/IP Connection Method ...................................................................... 113
5.3.2 Local Socket/Pipe Connection Method .................................................................... 115
5.3.3 Standard TCP/IP over SSH Connection Method ...................................................... 116
5.3.4 SSL Wizard (Certificates) ....................................................................................... 117
5.3.5 Remote Management ............................................................................................. 121
5.3.6 System Profile ....................................................................................................... 122
5.3.7 Configure Server Management Wizard .................................................................... 123
5.3.8 The Password Storage Vault .................................................................................. 126
5.3.9 Updating Old Authentication Protocol Passwords ..................................................... 126
5.4 Client Connections ............................................................................................................ 129
6 Administrative Tasks .................................................................................................................... 135
6.1 Server Administration ........................................................................................................ 135
6.1.1 Server Logs ........................................................................................................... 137
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MySQL Workbench
6.1.2 Service Control ...................................................................................................... 138

6.1.3 Configuration (Options File) .................................................................................... 139
6.2 Users and Privileges ......................................................................................................... 140
6.3 Server Status ................................................................................................................... 143
6.4 Status and System Variables ............................................................................................ 144
6.5 Data Export and Import ..................................................................................................... 147
6.5.1 Table Data Export and Import Wizard ..................................................................... 148
6.5.2 SQL Data Export and Import Wizard ....................................................................... 156
6.5.3 Result Data Export and Import ............................................................................... 160
6.6 MySQL Audit Inspector Interface ....................................................................................... 161
6.7 MySQL Enterprise Backup Interface .................................................................................. 163
6.7.1 General Requirements ........................................................................................... 164
6.7.2 Online Backup ....................................................................................................... 166
6.7.3 Backup Recovery ................................................................................................... 169
6.8 MySQL Enterprise Firewall Interface .................................................................................. 173
6.9 wbcopytables Utility .......................................................................................................... 175
7 Performance Tools ...................................................................................................................... 179
7.1 Performance Dashboard ................................................................................................... 179
7.2 Performance Schema Reports ........................................................................................... 181
7.3 Query Statistics ................................................................................................................ 186
7.4 Visual Explain Plan ........................................................................................................... 187
7.5 Tutorial: Using Explain to Improve Query Performance ....................................................... 190
8 Database Development ................................................................................................................ 197
8.1 Visual SQL Editor ............................................................................................................. 197
8.1.1 SQL Query Tab ..................................................................................................... 199
8.1.2 SQL Query Toolbar ................................................................................................ 200
8.1.3 Query and Edit Menus ........................................................................................... 202
8.1.4 Result Grid ............................................................................................................ 203
8.1.5 SQL Additions - Snippets Tab ................................................................................ 207
8.1.6 SQL Additions - Context Help Tab .......................................................................... 209
8.1.7 Output Panel ......................................................................................................... 210
8.1.8 Table Data Search Tab .......................................................................................... 212
8.1.9 Export or Import a Table ........................................................................................ 213
8.1.10 MySQL Table Editor ............................................................................................. 214
8.1.11 Code Generation Overview ................................................................................... 223
8.2 Object Management .......................................................................................................... 228
8.2.1 Object Browser and Editor Navigator ...................................................................... 228
8.2.2 Session and Object Information Panel .................................................................... 231
8.2.3 Schema and Table Inspector .................................................................................. 231
9 Database Design and Modeling ................................................................................................... 235
9.1 Modeling Interface ............................................................................................................ 236
9.1.1 Model Editor .......................................................................................................... 237
9.1.2 EER Diagram Editor ............................................................................................... 252
9.1.3 Creating Tables ..................................................................................................... 259
9.1.4 Creating Foreign Key Relationships ........................................................................ 261
9.1.5 Creating Views ...................................................................................................... 265
9.1.6 Creating Routines and Routine Groups ................................................................... 267
9.1.7 Creating Layers ..................................................................................................... 271
9.1.8 Creating Notes ....................................................................................................... 273
9.1.9 Creating Text Objects ............................................................................................ 274
9.1.10 Creating Images ................................................................................................... 275
9.2 Additional Modeling Tools ................................................................................................. 276
9.2.1 Printing Diagrams .................................................................................................. 276
9.2.2 DBDoc Model Reporting ......................................................................................... 276
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MySQL Workbench
9.2.3 Schema Validation Plugins ..................................................................................... 280

9.3 Modeling Tutorials ............................................................................................................ 283
9.3.1 Creating a Model ................................................................................................... 283
9.3.2 Basic Modeling ...................................................................................................... 289
9.3.3 Importing a Data Definition SQL Script .................................................................... 291
9.3.4 Using the Default Schema ...................................................................................... 293
9.3.5 Documenting the sakila Database ........................................................................... 296
9.4 Forward and Reverse Engineering ..................................................................................... 298
9.4.1 Forward Engineering .............................................................................................. 298
9.4.2 Reverse Engineering .............................................................................................. 308
9.5 Schema Synchronization and Comparison ......................................................................... 318
9.5.1 Database Synchronization ...................................................................................... 318
9.5.2 Compare and Report Differences in Catalogs .......................................................... 324
9.6 Table Templates ............................................................................................................... 326
9.7 Customizing DBDoc Model Reporting Templates ................................................................ 329
9.7.1 Supported Template Markers .................................................................................. 332
9.7.2 Creating a Custom Template .................................................................................. 336
10 Database Migration Wizard ........................................................................................................ 341
10.1 General Installation Requirements ................................................................................... 342
10.1.1 ODBC Libraries .................................................................................................... 342
10.1.2 ODBC Drivers ...................................................................................................... 343
10.2 Migration Overview ......................................................................................................... 344
10.2.1 A Visual Guide to Performing a Database Migration ............................................... 344
10.2.2 Migrating from Supported Databases .................................................................... 362
10.2.3 Migrating from Unsupported (Generic) Databases .................................................. 363
10.3 Conceptual DBMS Equivalents ........................................................................................ 363
10.4 Microsoft Access Migration .............................................................................................. 365
10.5 Microsoft SQL Server Migration ....................................................................................... 382
10.5.1 Preparations ........................................................................................................ 382
10.5.2 Drivers ................................................................................................................. 382
10.5.3 Connection Setup ................................................................................................. 386
10.5.4 Microsoft SQL Server Type Mapping ..................................................................... 389
10.6 PostgreSQL migration ..................................................................................................... 390
10.6.1 Preparations ........................................................................................................ 390
10.6.2 Drivers ................................................................................................................. 391
10.6.3 Connection Setup ................................................................................................. 392
10.6.4 PostgreSQL Type Mapping ................................................................................... 393
10.7 MySQL Migration ............................................................................................................ 395
10.8 Using the MySQL Workbench Migration Wizard ............................................................... 399
10.8.1 Connecting to the Databases ................................................................................ 399
10.8.2 Schema Retrieval and Selection ........................................................................... 401
10.8.3 Reverse Engineering ............................................................................................ 403
10.8.4 Object Selection ................................................................................................... 404
10.8.5 Migration .............................................................................................................. 405
10.8.6 Manual Editing ..................................................................................................... 406
10.8.7 Target Creation Options ....................................................................................... 409
10.8.8 Schema Creation ................................................................................................. 410
10.8.9 Create Target Results .......................................................................................... 411
10.8.10 Data Transfer and Migration Setup ...................................................................... 412
10.8.11 Bulk Data Transfer ............................................................................................. 413
10.8.12 Migration Report ................................................................................................. 414
10.9 MySQL Workbench Migration Wizard FAQ ....................................................................... 415
A MySQL Workbench Frequently Asked Questions .......................................................................... 417
B Keyboard Shortcuts ..................................................................................................................... 423
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C Extending Workbench ................................................................................................................. 427

C.1 GRT and Workbench Data Organization ........................................................................... 427
C.2 Modules ........................................................................................................................... 428
C.3 Plugins and Tools ............................................................................................................ 430
C.4 Adding a GUI to a Plugin Using MForms ........................................................................... 431
C.5 The Workbench Scripting Shell ......................................................................................... 431
C.5.1 Exploring the Workbench Scripting Shell ................................................................ 432
C.5.2 The Shell Window ................................................................................................. 432
C.5.3 Files, Globals, Classes, Modules, and Notifications Tabs ......................................... 434
C.6 Tutorial: Writing Plugins .................................................................................................... 439
C.6.1 Tutorial: Generate PHP Code to Create a Connection with PDO_MySQL .................. 439
C.6.2 Tutorial: Generating Foreign Keys with MyISAM ...................................................... 441
D How To Report Bugs or Problems ............................................................................................... 443
E MySQL Enterprise Features ........................................................................................................ 447
F MySQL Utilities ........................................................................................................................... 449
vi
Preface and Legal Notices
This is the user manual for MySQL Workbench.
Licensing information. This product may include third-party software, used under license. If you
are using MySQL Workbench Commercial Editions, see the MySQL Workbench Commercial License
Information User Manual for licensing information, including licensing information relating to third-party
software that may be included in this Commercial Edition release. If you are using the MySQL Workbench
Community Edition, see the MySQL Workbench Community License Information User Manual for licensing
information, including licensing information relating to third-party software that may be included in this
Community Edition release.
Legal Notices
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The information contained herein is subject to change without notice and is not warranted to be error-free.
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viii
Chapter 1 General Information
Table of Contents
1.1 What Is New in MySQL Workbench .............................................................................................. 1
1.1.1 New in MySQL Workbench 8.0 Release Series ................................................................... 1
1.1.2 New in MySQL Workbench 6.0 Release Series ................................................................... 6
1.2 MySQL Workbench Editions ........................................................................................................ 53
This chapter provides general information about MySQL Workbench and how it has changed.
MySQL Workbench is a graphical tool for working with MySQL servers and databases. MySQL Workbench
fully supports MySQL server versions 5.6 and higher. It is also compatible with older MySQL server 5.x
versions, except in certain situations (like displaying the process list) due to changed system tables. It does
not support MySQL server versions 4.x.
MySQL Workbench functionality covers five main topics:
• SQL Development: Enables you to create and manage connections to database servers. Along with
enabling you to configure connection parameters, MySQL Workbench provides the capability to execute
SQL queries on the database connections using the built-in SQL Editor.
• Data Modeling (Design): Enables you to create models of your database schema graphically, reverse
and forward engineer between a schema and a live database, and edit all aspects of your database
using the comprehensive Table Editor. The Table Editor provides easy-to-use facilities for editing Tables,
Columns, Indexes, Triggers, Partitioning, Options, Inserts and Privileges, Routines and Views.
• Server Administration: Enables you to administer MySQL server instances by administering users,
performing backup and recovery, inspecting audit data, viewing database health, and monitoring the
MySQL server performance.
• Data Migration: Allows you to migrate from Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Access, Sybase ASE,
SQLite, SQL Anywhere, PostreSQL, and other RDBMS tables, objects and data to MySQL. Migration
also supports migrating from earlier versions of MySQL to the latest releases.
• MySQL Enterprise Support: Support for Enterprise products such as MySQL Enterprise Backup,
MySQL Firewall, and MySQL Audit.
MySQL Workbench is available in two editions: the Community Edition and the Commercial Edition. The
Community Edition is available free of charge. The Commercial Edition provides additional Enterprise
features, such as access to MySQL Enterprise Backup, MySQL Firewall, and MySQL Audit. For a
complete comparison, see http://www.mysql.com/products/workbench/features.html
For notes detailing the changes in each release, see the MySQL Workbench Release Notes.
1.1 What Is New in MySQL Workbench

For notes detailing the changes in each point release, see the MySQL Workbench Release Notes.
1.1.1 New in MySQL Workbench 8.0 Release Series

This section summarizes how the MySQL Workbench 8.0 release series progressed with each minor
release. For the list of supported platforms, see https://www.mysql.com/support/supportedplatforms/
workbench.html.
• MySQL
1
New in MySQL Workbench 8.0 Release Series
• Character Set Changes
• Home Tab Changes
• MySQL Workbench Editors: Query, Object, and More
• SQL Export Options
• MySQL Model Changes
• MySQL Enterprise Backup (MEB)
• SET PERSIST and SET PERSIST ONLY Functionality
• Platform and Source Code Changes
• Security Changes
• Generic RunTime (GRT) Module Changes
MySQL
• The following MySQL 8.0.19 and 8.0.20 server language features are supported in MySQL Workbench
8.0.21:
• DROP CHECK, ALTER CONSTRAINT, and DROP CONSTRAINT in ALTER TABLE statements.
• Locking clause for query expressions.
• Table values constructor.
• Short table select syntax.
• New requirements for the CHANGE MASTER TO replication statement (row format, primary key check).
• Failed login attempts and password lock time in ALTER USER statements.
• Format support for EXPLAIN ANALYZE statements.
• New and changed keywords:
• ARRAY
• FAILED_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS
• MASTER_COMPRESSION_ALGORITHM
• MASTER_TLS_CIPHERSUITES
• MASTER_ZSTD_COMPRESSION_LEVEL
• MEMBER
• OFF
• PASSWORD_LOCK_TIME
• PRIVILEGE_CHECKS_USER
• RANDOM
2
• REQUIRE_ROW_FORMAT
• REQUIRE_TABLE_PRIMARY_KEY_CHECK
• STREAM
• TIMESTAMP
• TIME
• The following MySQL server language features are supported in MySQL Workbench 8.0.19:
• Value references in INSERT statements.
• New options (TLS version, cipher suite, compression, and privilege check) in CHANGE MASTER TO
replication statements.
• Random passwords in CREATE USER and ALTER USER statements.
• EXPLAIN ANALYZE (see Obtaining Information with EXPLAIN ANALYZE).
• binary collation names.
• Beginning with MySQL Workbench 8.0.17, the ANTLR4 grammar was updated to handle the language
features of each supported MySQL server version from MySQL 5.6 to MySQL 8.0, including the following
new language features in MySQL Server 8.0.17:
• CHECK constraints with enforcement.
• ODBC table references now require the OJ keyword (previously an identifier was allowed).
• The equal sign (=) operator for aliases is no longer allowed.
• CHANGE MASTER supports NETWORK_NAMESPACE and channels.
• The CREATE DATABASE statement permits a default encryption to be specified.
• Roles now support exception lists and GRANT AS. Grant identifiers can be qualified with a schema
name.
• MEMBER OF is allowed in expressions.
• AS ARRAY is allowed in CAST expressions.
• Passwords in user statements can now also be hexadecimal numbers.
• Hexadecimal numbers are also allowed in many numeric expressions.
• Minor items, such as, permit data types in number expressions, and reorganize keywords to lower
conflicts in the server parser generation.
• Removed support for MySQL 5.5 in the MySQL Workbench 8.0 release series. Minimum version now is
MySQL 5.6.
If you still need to use MySQL Workbench on a MySQL 5.5 server, you can use MySQL Workbench 6.3,
which is available from MySQL Product Archives.
3
Character Set Changes

• MySQL Workbench now uses utf8mb4 as the connection and client character set, replacing utf8mb3.
• Support for the Chinese character set gb18030 was added.
Home Tab Changes

• As of MySQL Workbench 8.0.14, keyboard access was added to the home screen tab to enable
navigation using Tab and Enter keys. In addition, the screen view now scrolls to display a selected item
if the item was off-screen when highlighted with the Tab key.
On Windows and Linux hosts, the Application key and Ctrl+F10 now open a menu of commands
(context menu) related to the selection.
MySQL Workbench Editors: Query, Object, and More

• Starting with MySQL Workbench 8.0.22, visual explain diagrams use the phrase hash join within the
diamond symbol instead of block nested loop when the server version is 8.0.20 or higher.
• For consistency with other MySQL products, RapidJSON replaces the native JSON parser in the MySQL
Workbench 8.0.18 release.
• Important change: MySQL model files last saved before MySQL Workbench 6.3 are no longer
supported unless the models can be upgraded for use with the 6.3 release series.
• Beginning with MySQL Workbench 8.0.16, the script editor highlights matching pairs of parentheses
when one of the pair is selected.
• SQL context help was enhanced to eliminate the requirement of having a valid MySQL connection to
view the help topics and to improve the presentation of each help topic.
• A new auto-completion engine was added for use with object editors (triggers, views, stored procedures,
and functions) in the visual SQL editor and in models.
• Geometry fields displayed in the result grid now include a context-menu item that opens the specific
location value in a browser. The selected point opens in openstreetmap.org by default, but an
alternative online service can be used (see Section 3.2.7, “Other Preferences” ).
• Support for invisible indexes was added for use when the active server supports the feature and the
index is neither a primary key index nor a unique column (see Invisible Indexes). A new option in the
Indexes subtab of the table editor (for both the SQL and modeling editors) provides index visibility when
it is selected.
SQL Export Options

• A new SQL export option in the Forward Engineering SQL Script wizard sorts tables alphabetically in the
generated script, rather than sorting tables according to foreign-key references by default (see Creating
a Schema).
• The OmitSchemas option replaces both the UseShortNames and OmitSchemata options to eliminate
the schema name from table names when using the Python API to generate a schema from an .mwb file
automatically.
MySQL Model Changes

• Output from schema validation plugins for MySQL models now is shown in a single location and
reorganized to provide informational, warning, and error messages by category. A new Validate tab also
4
provides a simple way to reselect and rerun validation tests from the output area in the right side panel
(see Section 9.2.3, “Schema Validation Plugins”).
MySQL Enterprise Backup (MEB)

• Support for the --incremental-with-redo-log-only option was added to create backups directly
from the redo log (see Options Tab).
SET PERSIST and SET PERSIST ONLY Functionality

• MySQL Workbench now provides a simple way to enable or disable the persisted global system variable
settings introduced in MySQL 8.0 (see SET Syntax for Variable Assignment). For variables that can be
persisted, a new check box enables configuration changes at runtime that also persist across server
restarts and applies the persisted value, if one exists. Persistent system variables can be reset (to not
persist) individually or collectively. For additional information, see Persist System Variables.
Platform and Source Code Changes

• The requirement to install the EPEL repository on enterprise Linux systems, such as Oracle Linux and
Red Hat, is removed for general use with the MySQL Workbench 8.0.18 release. Working with spatial
data is an exception and you can still install the repository if needed (see Installing Oracle Enterprise
Linux and Similar).
• MySQL Workbench 8.0.18 switched to the C++17 programming language.
• Support for Microsoft Visual Studio 2019 was added in the MySQL Workbench 8.0.19 release. Microsoft
Visual Studio support was upgraded from Visual Studio 15 to Visual Studio 17 in the MySQL Workbench
8.0.16 release.
• MySQL Workbench 8.0.19 (and higher) supports macOS 10.15 Catalina. MySQL Workbench 8.0.14
(and higher) supports macOS 10.14 Mojave, including full compatibility with the Dark Mode color
scheme.
• Support for Microsoft Windows Server 2019 was added in the MySQL Workbench 8.0.19 release.
Support for Microsoft Windows Server 2016 was added in the MySQL Workbench 8.0.11 release.
• MySQL Workbench source code has been reformatted according to Google style.
Security Changes
• libgnome-keyring was depreciated and replaced with libsecret in the MySQL Workbench 8.0.12
release on Linux platforms. The libsecret library provides enhanced cross-platform password storage
and lookup.
Important
Some users with existing stored passwords will be prompted to enter a password
after upgrading.
• SSH tunneling support was added to the MySQL Workbench Migration Wizard and also to the
wbcopytables command-line utility for copying data.
• Setting an encryption password is required to perform MySQL Enterprise Backup operations on

encrypted tables (see Options Tab).
• The SSH implementation based on Paramiko was replaced with the one based on libssh.
5
• MySQL Workbench now supports the caching_sha2_password authentication plugin introduced in

MySQL 8.0 (see Caching SHA-2 Pluggable Authentication).
Generic RunTime (GRT) Module Changes

As of MySQL Workbench 8.0.14, the following new functions are included in the Workbench GRT module:
• activateDiagram(<Diagram>)
Opens the selected EER diagram for use with the exportPNG, exportSVG, exportPS, and
exportPDF functions.
• exportDiagramToPng(<Diagram>, <path>)
Performs a PNG export of an EER diagram to the path provided without activating it.
1.1.2 New in MySQL Workbench 6.0 Release Series

This section summarizes how the MySQL Workbench 6.0 release series progressed with each minor
release.
1.1.2.1 New in MySQL Workbench 6.3

This section summarizes many of the new features added to MySQL Workbench 6.3, in relation to the
MySQL Workbench 6.2 release.
• MySQL
• User Interface Changes
• User Preference Changes
• Package and Build Related Changes
• Fast Data Migration
• SSL Certificate Generator
• SQL Editor Auto-Completion
• MySQL Enterprise Firewall
• MySQL Enterprise Backup
• Table Data Export and Import Wizard
• Additional Changes
MySQL
• Full MySQL 5.7 language support was added, which affects grammar, syntax highlighting, preferences,
behavior, and more.
• The bundled sakila_full model now uses a dedicated 5.7 version to allow for 5.7 specific features,
regardless of the version setting in the preferences.
• The JSON editor was improved with better parsing and error checking.
6
• The option to specify an alternative application data directory, instead of the default location, was added.
• Dropped support for MySQL 5.1. Minimum version is now MySQL 5.5.
• Dropped Fabric support in MySQL Workbench 6.3.9; support in older versions of MySQL Workbench is
unchanged.
• Dropped support for DBDesigner 4.
User Interface Changes
• The home screen was modified: the connections, models, and starters were split into individual pages.
User Preference Changes
• A new Log Level preference (under Others) was added to alter the log verbosity level.
As before, this can still be set by passing in the log-level command-line argument into Workbench at
runtime, and doing so overrides the Log Level setting.
Package and Build Related Changes
• Linux: Fedora 23 support dropped, Fedora 25 support added. Oracle Linux 6 support was dropped.
• Windows: Zip packages and 32-bit binaries are no longer published. The .NET Framework version 4.5 is
now required.
• OS X / macOS: Version 10.7 (Lion) and 10.8 (Mountain Lion) support was dropped. Now supporting
versions 10.9 (Mavericks), 10.10 (Yosemite), 10.11 (El Capitan), and 10.12 (Sierra).
• Changed to GTK 3 on Linux.
• Changed to C++11.
Fast Data Migration
A new "fast migration" option was added to the migration wizard. This is another way to transfer data from
one MySQL server to another while performing a migration, and it complements the existing solutions. The
premise is to use a generated script on the source server to create a dump that you move to the target
machine to perform the import there. This avoids the need to traffic all data through MySQL Workbench,
or to have a permanent network connection between the servers. Instead, the dump and restore is
performed at maximum speed by using the LOAD DATA call for the MySQL import. The migration wizard
automatically creates all necessary scripts for all supported platforms and servers. The generated script
creates a self-contained Zip file that must be copied to the target server. You unzip it and execute the
provided script to perform the data import.
7
Figure 1.1 Data Transfer Setup: New Fast Migration Option
SSL Certificate Generator
A new SSL certificate generation wizard was added. This new wizard helps create proper SSL certificates
for both MySQL clients and MySQL servers. Connections in MySQL Workbench are updated with the
certificates by the wizard. This wizard requires OpenSSL to create the certificates. An example my.cnf /
my.ini file is also generated that utilizes the generated certificates.
8
Figure 1.2 SSL Certificate Wizard
For additional details, see Section 5.3.4, “SSL Wizard (Certificates)”.
SQL Editor Auto-Completion
The SQL editor auto-completion improvements include the following changes:
• It now functions with all statement types, when before only SELECT statements were fully supported.
• It now minds the MySQL server version. For example, it now only shows the engines available from the
server.
• Additional suggestions are now available, such as system variables, engines, table spaces, logfile
groups, and more.
• New graphics including color coded (and tagged) entries.
• It is context aware, as for example it only shows available keywords, columns, and tables.
• Improved MySQL 5.7 syntax support.
9
Figure 1.3 SQL Editor Auto-Completion
MySQL Enterprise Firewall
MySQL Enterprise Firewall support was added in MySQL Workbench 6.3.4. Use MySQL Workbench
to install and enable MySQL Enterprise Firewall, and manage the MySQL Enterprise Firewall rules and
variables. For additional information, see Section 6.8, “MySQL Enterprise Firewall Interface”.
10
Figure 1.4 MySQL Enterprise Firewall: Install / Enable
11
Figure 1.5 MySQL Enterprise Firewall Rules
MySQL Enterprise Backup
Profile handling now detects mismatches between MySQL Enterprise Backup executables and
corresponding profiles.
Improved scheduling logic
Table Data Export and Import Wizard
A new table data import/export wizard was added. This feature enhances the current CSV import and
export feature found in the SQL editor's result set viewer. It supports import and export of CSV and JSON
files, and allows a more flexible configuration (separators, column selection, encoding selection, and
more). This new wizard does not require an executed statement on a table for a result set to be operated
on, as it can now work directly on tables. The wizard can be performed against either a local or remotely
connected MySQL server. The import action includes table, column, and type mapping. For additional
information, see Section 6.5.1, “Table Data Export and Import Wizard”.
The wizard is accessible from the object browser's context menu.
12
Figure 1.6 Table Data Import/Export Wizard Menu
13
Figure 1.7 Table Data Import/Export Wizard CSV Configure
14
Figure 1.8 Table Data Import/Export Wizard Options
Additional Changes
MySQL Fabric 1.5 is now supported. Older versions of Fabric are no longer supported due to incompatible
protocol changes.
OS X / macOS builds were switched from 32-bit to 64-bit.
Platforms support changes: 6.3.0: Fedora 21 and Ubuntu 14.10 support was added, Ubuntu 12.10 support
was dropped. 6.3.4: Fedora 22 and Ubuntu 15.04 support was added, Ubuntu 14.10 support was dropped.

• SQL Editor
• Overlay Icons in the Object Viewer
• A "Pin Tab" Results Option
• Microsoft Access to MySQL Migration
• Visual Explain and Execution Plan Improvements
• Spatial View Panel
• Geometry Data Viewer
• Additional New SQL Editor Features
• Execute SQL Scripts
15
• Model Script Attachments
• Client Connections and Metadata Locks
• Additional New Features
SQL Editor
Most of the changes and improvements were made to the SQL editor.
Overlay Icons in the Object Viewer
The schema navigator now includes shortcut buttons for common operations such as table data view, the
table editor, and the table/schema inspector.
Figure 1.9 Object Viewer Overlay Icons
A "Pin Tab" Results Option
Result tabs can now be "pinned" to your result set window.
Note
The "Rename Tab" context menu option is also new. New names are preserved
(and remembered) in your Workbench's cache/ directory.
16
Figure 1.10 Pin Tab
Microsoft Access to MySQL Migration
The migration wizard now supports Microsoft Access migration. Select "Microsoft Access" as your source
database in the wizard, use MySQL as your target source database, and then execute. For additional
information, see Section 10.4, “Microsoft Access Migration”.
Visual Explain and Execution Plan Improvements
The Visual Explain Execution Plan feature was improved. A list of changes includes:
• An "Execution Plan" tab was added to the results view
• All statements now offer a "Visual Explain" execution plan
• The layout changed, and was improved to allow easier navigation in large query plans
17
Figure 1.11 Execution Plan Explained
Spatial View Panel
GIS support for InnoDB tables is now supported to make it easier to visualize spatial and geometry data
in a geographic context. The new spatial view panel renders data from each row into a separate and
selectable element. When clicked, you can view the rest of the data from that row in the text box. If you
have multiple queries with geometry data, you can overlay them onto the same map. View options include
the Robinson, Mercator, Equirectangular, and Bonne projection methods.
Note
GIS support for InnoDB tables was added in MySQL server 5.7.
18
Figure 1.12 Spatial View Example
Geometry Data Viewer
The SQL field and form editors were updated to support the GEOMETRY datatype. You can view geometry
data, such as polygons, from a single row as an image or as text. The available formats include WKT,
GeoJSON, GML, and KML.
19
Figure 1.13 Geometry Data Viewer
Additional New SQL Editor Features
• Result Set Widths: resized result set column widths are now preserved and remembered. This data is
saved under Workbench's cache/ directory using the schema.table.column format.
• Opened, closed, and reordered SQL editor tabs are now properly saved and restored. The scroll position
and cursor locations are also remembered.
• Shared Snippets: these allow multiple users to share SQL code across a shared MySQL connection.
They are stored in a schema named .mysqlworkbench on the connected MySQL server. by storing the
snippets in a shared MySQL instance. For additional information, see Section 8.1.5, “SQL Additions -
Snippets Tab”.
• The full SQL syntax error is now viewable by hovering over the error response message.
• The Query Status tab was improved to include graphs and additional information.
Execute SQL Scripts
The new Run SQL Script dialog executes an SQL script without loading it into the SQL editor. This is
useful because loading large scripts for editing can cause performance problems related to increased
memory usage and required processing for editor features such as syntax highlighting, syntax checking,
and code-folding. The dialog lets you preview a part of the script, optionally specify a default schema, and
optionally set the default character set to use for the imported data. The output window shows warnings,
messages, and an execution progression bar. Select Run SQL Script from the File menu to execute this
wizard.
20
Figure 1.14 Run SQL Script
Model Script Attachments
Previously, MySQL Workbench modeling supported attaching SQL script files to models, usually for
documentation and organization purposes. You can now include attached SQL files to the output script
when performing forward engineering or synchronization operations.
21
Figure 1.15 Data Modeling Script Attachments
Client Connections and Metadata Locks
The Client Connections management window has a new Show Details window. This window's three tabs
are:
• Details: connection details such as Process ID, Type, User, Host, Instrumented, and additional
information.
• Locks: MySQL uses metadata locking to manage access to objects such as tables and triggers.
Sometimes a query might be blocked while being manipulated by another connection from another user.
The Locks feature utilizes these MySQL metadata locks (MDL) to show the locked connections that are
blocked or being waiting on, and shows information about the locks, what they are waiting for, and what
they hold.
22
Figure 1.16 Metadata Locks Browser
Note
The metadata lock information is provided in the performance schema as of

MySQL server 5.7.3.
23
• Attributes: these are connection attributes such as OS, Client Name, Client Version, and Platform.
Figure 1.17 Client Connection Attributes
Note
This feature uses performance schema details from MySQL server 5.7 and above.
For additional information, see Section 5.4, “Client Connections”.
Additional New Features
• Performance columns (that display sizes) now have an option to alter the value units. They can be set to
KB, MB, or GB. Right-click on a column header and choose Set Display Unit.
• The migration wizard can now resume operation if a data copy failed during a database migration from,
for example, a timeout or network failure. Click Resume retry the data copy, and MySQL Workbench
locates the last row that was copied successfully and attempts to restart the copy from that row.
• The MySQL connection password is now remembered across the MySQL Workbench session, even if it
not stored in the keychain. This is so you do not need to re-enter it whenever a new MySQL connection
is needed.
• Under Modeling, the Role Editor now has "Add Everything" and "Check All Privileges" options.
• The Preferences layout changed. The tabs were replaced by a list using a horizontal sidebar, and
additional category names were added. For additional information, see Section 3.2, “Workbench
Preferences”.
• Keyboard shortcuts now function in the Scripting Shell.
24
• Model diagram notes can now be resized and automatically rearranged. You can also change the style
attributes such as the font, background color, and text color.
Figure 1.18 Model Diagram Note Formatting
• New Navigator PERFORMANCE Section
• Server Variable Groupings
• SQL Editor Views
• Home Screen Features
• Visual Explain
• Table Inspector
• Additional Client-Connection Information
• Miscellaneous Additions
New Navigator PERFORMANCE Section
The new PERFORMANCE section includes Dashboard, Performance Reports, and Performance
Schema Setup pages. Generally, this new performance reporting feature provides a graphical
representation of key statistics from the MySQL server status, and provides an overview of the MySQL
server subsystems.
Dashboard
View server performance statistics in a graphical dashboard.
25
Figure 1.19 Performance Dashboard
Performance Reports
Performance schema based reports that provide insight into the operation of the MySQL server through
many high-level reports.
26
Figure 1.20 Performance Reports: Top I/0 By Bytes
Performance Schema Setup
A GUI for configuring and fine tuning the Performance Schema instrumentation. Initially, this loads an
"Easy Setup" page that is enough for most users. Slide the "Performance Schema Full Enabled" slider to
YES to enable all available Performance Schema instruments.
27
Figure 1.21 Performance Schema Setup: Easy Setup
Clicking Show Advanced provides methods to fine tune the Performance Schema instrumentation.
28
Figure 1.22 Performance Schema Setup: Introduction
For additional information, see Chapter 7, Performance Tools.
Server Variable Groupings
Variables can now be organized using custom groupings in the Status and System Variables
Management tab.
To create a custom group, right-click on a variable and choose either Add to Custom Category (to create
a new category), or an existing custom category. For additional information, see Section 6.4, “Status and
System Variables”.
29
Figure 1.23 Status And System Variables: Custom
SQL Editor Views
Additional viewing options were added for executed statements:
Result Grid
Available previously, and it remains the default view.
30
Figure 1.24 SQL Editor: Result Grid
Form Editor
You can now edit records row by row in a form style editor.
31
Figure 1.25 SQL Editor: Form Editor
Field Types
Displays information about the selected fields, similar to passing in --column-type-info from the
command line client.
32
Figure 1.26 SQL Editor: Field Types
Query Stats
Query statistics are taken from the Performance Schema, and includes information about timing, temporary
tables, indexes, joins, and more.
33
Figure 1.27 SQL Editor: Query Stats
Home Screen Features
Several behavioral improvements were made to the MySQL Workbench home screen, including:
• Connection tiles can now be repositioned by using drag and drop
• A script or model file can be dragged into a MySQL connection tile
• The following right-click options were added to the connection tiles: Copy JDBC Connection String and
Copy Connection String
• Right-clicking a blank area in the MySQL Connections area now offers an option to create a New
Connection From Clipboard
Visual Explain
The layout changed, and additional information is now viewable by hovering over the fields. It also displays
traditional EXPLAIN output in a separate tab, and the Raw Explain Data (as JSON) in another. For
MySQL server 5.7+, the new "cost information" (such as "query_cost" and "sort_cost) is also utilized.
34
Figure 1.28 Visual Explain: Workbench 6.0
35
Table Inspector
View table information, similar to the Schema Inspector. This also has a simpler and easier to use interface
for analyzing and creating indexes for your tables.
36
Figure 1.30 Table Inspector
Additional Client-Connection Information
Additional information was added to the Client Connections tab, such as Thread ID, Parent Thread,
Instrumented, and Type.
37
Figure 1.31 Client Connections: MySQL Workbench 6.0
Figure 1.32 Client Connections: MySQL Workbench 6.1
Also, a Thread Stack view option was added by right-clicking a connection entry in the Client
Connections tab and choosing View Thread Stack.
38
Figure 1.33 Client Connections: View Thread Stack
39
Miscellaneous Additions
• MSAA (Windows Accessibility API) support and High contrast color theme in Microsoft Windows
• MySQL Enterprise Backup improvements
• Improvements with general performance and overall stability
• A New Home Screen
• Unified SQL Editor and Administration Interface
• Table Data Search
• Context Help for the SQL Editor
• Schema Inspector
• Cascaded DELETE Statements Generator
• Table Templates
• Vertical Text
• Improved Visual Explain
• Improved Server Status
• Enterprise Features
• Database Migration Features
A New Home Screen
A new, modernized home screen where major functionality of MySQL Workbench can be accessed,
including connections to MySQL servers, modeling, migration, and the command-line utilities.
40
Figure 1.34 Home Screen: Workbench 5.2
41
Figure 1.35 Home Screen: Workbench 6.0
Unified SQL Editor and Administration Interface
In the new user interface, the Server Administration functionality (such as start/stop server, managing user
accounts etc) is now accessible directly from the SQL Editor interface, located near where the schema
information can be browsed and queries executed.
The following figure contains three screenshots of the Schema window in the SQL Editor. The first is from
MySQL Workbench 5.2, the second is MySQL Workbench 6.0 with the management tab collapsed, and the
third shows what the merged management tab looks like. Toggle the merged and tabbed views by clicking
the new merge button next to the refresh button.
42
Figure 1.36 Comparing the SQL Editor interface for Workbench 5.2 and 6.0
Table Data Search
You can select schemas, tables, or both to perform client-side searches for user specified strings and
patterns. To access this new search feature, right click select a schema or a table in the left sidebar and
select Search Table Data.
This screenshot demonstrates the search feature, along with an example search. Multiple tables were
selected and searched in this example:
43
Figure 1.37 Table search functionality
For additional information, see Section 8.1.8, “Table Data Search Tab”.
Context Help for the SQL Editor
Select a keyword or function in your query and after a delay it will show formatted help information from the
MySQL Server (equivalent to using the help command from the command-line MySQL Client).
44
Figure 1.38 Context Sensitive Help
For additional information, see Section 8.1.6, “SQL Additions - Context Help Tab”.
Schema Inspector
New Schema Inspector feature allows you to browse general information from schema objects. For tables,
it's also possible to perform maintenance tasks such as ANALYZE, OPTIMIZE, CHECK, and CHECKSUM
TABLE. To access the inspector, right-click a schema and select the Schema Inspector
45
Figure 1.39 Schema Inspector
And choosing Maintenance for a table:
46
Figure 1.40 Schema Inspector: Maintenance
For additional information, see Schema Inspector.
Cascaded DELETE Statements Generator
You can generate a series of DELETE statements needed to delete a row from that table, which includes
rows from other tables that reference it, recursively. The SELECT version allows you to preview what rows
would be deleted. Right click a table and select Copy to Clipboard, Delete with References.
47
Figure 1.41 Cascading SELECT
Table Templates
Define templates of tables with commonly used columns, to be used to create new tables in a live
connection or in an EER model. In the SQL Editor, choose Create Table Like, or in Modeling, use the right
sidebar. For additional information, see Section 9.6, “Table Templates”.
Vertical Text
A Vertical Text output option for queries (equivalent to \G from the command-line Client) was added. To
execute, choose Query, Execute Current Statement (Vertical Text Output).
48
Figure 1.42 Vertical Text (\G)
Improved Visual Explain
The Visual Explain output was improved.
49
50
Improved Server Status
Additional server status information was added, and the user interface was improved. Select Server
Status from the Management tab to open this window.
51
Figure 1.45 Server Status: Workbench 5.2
52
MySQL Workbench Editions
Figure 1.46 Server Status: Workbench 6.0
Enterprise Features
Support for MySQL Enterprise features in MySQL Workbench Commercial was added. From within the
Management tab for an open connection, look for the following products under the heading MySQL
Enterprise:
MySQL Enterprise Backup (MEB): A GUI front end for the MEB tool. After installing MySQL
Workbench Commercial and MySQL Enterprise Backup, MySQL Workbench will check for and handle
the prerequisites. Backup recovery is also supported. This plugin supports MEB with local and remote
installations of Linux and macOS, and locally for Windows.
MySQL Audit Log Inspector: A GUI for browsing the contents of generated logs by the commercial
Audit Log Plugin. Powerful filtering and search capabilities are available. Fast browsing is provided
by caching the log data locally in an encrypted file. This plugin supports MEB with local and remote
installations of Linux and macOS, and locally for Microsoft Windows.
Database Migration Features

SQL Anywhere and SQLite are now supported.
1.2 MySQL Workbench Editions

MySQL Workbench is available in the following editions:
53
MySQL Workbench Editions
• MySQL Workbench Community (Open Source, GPL)
• MySQL Workbench Commercial (Standard Edition and Enterprise Edition).
For details about each edition, see http://www.mysql.com/products/workbench/features.html
For more information about the MySQL Enterprise Edition, visit http://www.mysql.com/enterprise
54
Chapter 2 Installation
Table of Contents
2.1 System Requirements ................................................................................................................. 55
2.2 Command-Line Options .............................................................................................................. 57
2.3 MySQL Workbench on Windows ................................................................................................. 58
2.3.1 Installing .......................................................................................................................... 58
2.3.2 Launching ........................................................................................................................ 59
2.3.3 Uninstalling ...................................................................................................................... 59
2.4 MySQL Workbench on Linux ....................................................................................................... 60
2.4.1 Installing .......................................................................................................................... 60
2.4.2 Launching ........................................................................................................................ 63
2.4.3 Uninstalling ...................................................................................................................... 64
2.5 MySQL Workbench on macOS ................................................................................................... 65
2.5.1 Installing .......................................................................................................................... 65
2.5.2 Launching ........................................................................................................................ 66
2.5.3 Uninstalling ...................................................................................................................... 66
MySQL Workbench is available for Windows, Linux, and macOS.
Binary distributions of MySQL Workbench are available for the preceding platforms. Source code
distributions are also available as a tar.gz package, or an RPM package.
MySQL Workbench downloads are available at https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/workbench/. The source

code is also available on GitHub.
The following sections explain the installation process for each of these platforms.
2.1 System Requirements

MySQL Workbench is available on a number of operating systems and platforms. For information about
those platforms that are officially supported, see https://www.mysql.com/support/supportedplatforms/
workbench.html on the MySQL website.
General Requirements
General requirements and considerations that apply to all operating systems.
• MySQL server: Although it is not required, MySQL Workbench is designed to have either a remote or
local MySQL server connection. For additional information about connecting to a MySQL server, see
Chapter 5, Connections in MySQL Workbench. For additional information about installing a MySQL
server, see Installing and Upgrading MySQL.
Data modeling does not require a MySQL server connection.
Some features take advantage of MySQL server features, and as such, they require more recent
versions of MySQL Server. For example, the Performance Dashboard requires MySQL Server 5.6 or
higher.
• Simultaneous client connections: Opening a MySQL connection from the MySQL Workbench
home page opens a new connection tab in MySQL Workbench for that connection. Each of these tabs
requires two MySQL connections to perform basic tasks, such as schema discovery and SQL execution.
55
Requirements for Linux
Additionally, performing management related tasks, such as Server Status, requires two additional
MySQL connections. Essentially, this means that each MySQL connection tab in MySQL Workbench
requires four available connections to MySQL. For additional information about "Too many connections"
related errors, see Too many connections.
This connection requirement doubles with each connection tab opened in MySQL Workbench, even if
the two connection tabs point to the same MySQL server. SQL editor tabs share their connections, so
having multiple SQL editor and SQL results tabs does not affect the number of required connections.
Note
On startup, the application checks the OpenGL version and chooses between
software and hardware rendering. To determine which rendering method is being
used, open the Help menu and choose the System Info item.

• The requirements for Linux are embedded within their respective packages. Use the platform specific
tool (for example, yum or apt) to install the package and their dependencies.
• The Save password in vault functionality requires gnome-keyring-daemon to store the passwords.
Note that KDE systems use their own ksecretservice implementation.
• For Linux and macOS, the MySQL server administration features require sudo command privileges
to execute several commands. The sudo user must be capable of executing the following system
commands:
/usr/bin/sudo
/usr/bin/nohup
/usr/bin/uptime
/usr/bin/which
/usr/bin/stat
/bin/bash
/bin/mkdir
/bin/rm
/bin/rmdir
/bin/dd
/bin/cp
/bin/ls
Additionally, the sudo user must keep the HOME environment variable when executing system
commands, which means adding the following entry to the /etc/sudoers file safely by using the
visudo command:
Defaults env_keep +="HOME"
For MySQL Workbench to execute MySQL Enterprise Backup commands, the sudo command user
must also be able to execute the MySQL Enterprise Backup binary.
Minimum Requirements for Windows

The following prerequisites are available at the Microsoft Download Center:
• Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5.2
• Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2019
• Microsoft Windows 10 or Windows Server 2019
56
Command-Line Options
2.2 Command-Line Options

In addition to platform-specific command-line options, MySQL Workbench has the following command-line
options:
Note
On Microsoft Windows, the command-line options contain one leading dash instead
of two. For example, use -log-level for Microsoft Windows and --log-level
for Linux and macOS.
• --log-level level: Controls the verbosity level for logging output from Workbench.
With increasingly levels of verbosity, the valid values for level are: error, warning, info, debug1,
debug2, and debug3.
The location of the generated log files, such as wb.log, are as follows:
Table 2.1 Default location of generated MySQL Workbench log files
Platform Default location

Linux ~/.mysql/workbench/log/
macOS ~/Library/Application Support/Workbench/log/
Microsoft Windows C:\Users\user_name\AppData\Roaming\MySQL\Workbench\log\
• --admin instance: Open an administration tab to the named MySQL instance.
• --upgrade-mysql-dbs: Open the Migration Wizard tab.
• --migration: Open the Migration Wizard tab.
• --log-to-stderr: Also log to stderr.
• --version: Show MySQL Workbench version number and exit.
• --verbose, -v: Enable diagnostics output.
• --query [connection|connection_string]:
• Empty: Open a query tab and prompts for a connection.
• Connection: Open a named connection.
• Connection_string: Create a connection based on the entered connection string, which should be in
the form $USER@$HOST:$PORT.
• --model modelfile: open the given EER model file.
• --script script: Open the given SQL file in a connection, typically used with the --query
parameter.
• --run code: Execute the given code using the default language for GRT shell.
• --run-python script: Execute the given code in Python.
• --run-script file: Execute Python code from a file.
57
MySQL Workbench on Windows
• --open file: Open the given file at startup. Deprecated, so instead use specific types such as --
script or --model.
• --quit-when-done: Quits MySQL Workbench after --script or --run finishes.
2.3 MySQL Workbench on Windows

2.3.1 Installing
MySQL Workbench for Windows can be installed using the MySQL Installer that installs and updates all
MySQL products on Windows or the standalone Windows MSI Installer package. For general requirements
and specific installation instructions, see the sections that follow.
• Minimum Requirements for Windows
• Installation Using MySQL Installer
• Installation Using the Windows MSI Installer Package
Minimum Requirements for Windows

The following prerequisites are available at the Microsoft Download Center:
• Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5.2
• Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2019
• Microsoft Windows 10 or Windows Server 2019
Installation Using MySQL Installer

The general MySQL Installer download is available at https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/windows/installer/.
The MySQL Installer application can install, upgrade, and manage most MySQL products, including
MySQL Workbench.
This is the Recommended Approach

Managing all of your MySQL products, including Workbench, with MySQL Installer is the recommended
approach. It handles all requirements and prerequisites, configurations, and upgrades.
When executing MySQL Installer, you may choose MySQL Workbench as one of the products to install. It
is selected by default, and essentially executes the standalone MSI Installer package described in the next
section.
Installation Using the Windows MSI Installer Package

The standalone download is available at https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/workbench/.
Important
Installing MySQL Workbench using a Windows MSI Installer package requires

either Administrator or Power User privileges.
MySQL Workbench can be installed using the Windows MSI Installer package. The MSI package bears the
name mysql-workbench-community-version-winarch.msi, where version indicates the MySQL
Workbench version number, and arch the build architecture (winx64).
To install MySQL Workbench
58
Launching
1. From an account with Administrator or Power User privileges, right-click the MSI file and select the
Install item from the pop-up menu, or double-click the file.
2. In the Setup Type window you may choose a Complete or Custom installation. To use all features of
MySQL Workbench choose the Complete option.
3. Unless you choose otherwise, MySQL Workbench is installed in C:\%PROGRAMFILES%\MySQL

\MySQL Workbench 8.0 edition_type\, where %PROGRAMFILES% is the default directory for
programs for your locale. The %PROGRAMFILES% directory is defined as C:\Program Files\ on
most systems.
2.3.2 Launching
To start MySQL Workbench on Windows, select Start, Programs, MySQL, then select MySQL
Workbench. This executes the MySQLWorkbench.exe file on your system.
Alternatively, start MySQL Workbench from the command line. To view the available command-line
options, issue the command MySQLWorkbench -help from the MySQL Workbench installation directory.
You will see the following output:
MySQLWorkbench.exe [<options>] [<name of a model file or sql script>]
Options:
-swrendering Force the diagram canvas to use software rendering instead of OpenGL
-query [<connection>|<connection string>]
Open a query tab and ask for connection if nothing is specified.
If named connection is specified it will be opened, else connection
will be created based on the given connection string, which should
be in form <user>@<host>:<port>
-admin <instance> Open a administration tab to the named instance
-upgrade-mysql-dbs Open a migration wizard tab
-model <model file> Open the given EER model file
-script <sql file> Open the given SQL file in an connection, best in conjunction with
a query parameter
-run-script <file> Execute Python code from a file
-run <code> Execute the given Python code
-run-python <code> Execute the given Python code
-migration Open the Migration Wizard tab
-quit-when-done Quit Workbench when the script is done
-log-to-stderr Also log to stderr
-help, -h Show command line options and exit
-log-level=<level> Valid levels are: error, warning, info, debug1, debug2, debug3
-verbose, -v Enable diagnostics output
-version Show Workbench version number and exit
-open <file> Open the given file at startup (deprecated, use script, model etc.)
Use the -swrendering option if your video card does not support OpenGL 1.5. The -version option
can be used to display the MySQL Workbench version number. The other options are self-explanatory.
2.3.3 Uninstalling
The method for uninstalling MySQL Workbench depends on how you installed MySQL Workbench.
Removing MySQL Workbench After Installation Using the Installer Package
1. To uninstall MySQL Workbench, open the Control Panel and Choose Add or Remove Programs.
Find the MySQL Workbench entry and choose the Remove button. This will remove MySQL
Workbench.
59
MySQL Workbench on Linux
Note
If you installed MySQL Workbench using the Installer package, it is not possible to
remove MySQL Workbench from the command line. Although you can manually
remove some of the components, there is no command-line option for removing
MySQL Workbench.
Removing the MySQL Workbench directory manually will not remove all the files
belonging to MySQL Workbench.
Removing MySQL Workbench After Installation from the MySQL Installer
Open the MySQL Installer for Windows, click Remove MySQL Products, choose MySQL Workbench, and
then Execute.
What Is Not Removed

Uninstalling MySQL Workbench does not remove your Workbench configuration directory. This directory
includes your MySQL connections, configuration settings, cache files, SQL snippets and history, logs,
custom modules, and more. These files are stored under your user's %AppData% directory.
Note
By default, the Workbench configuration directory is C:\username\AppData

\Roaming\MySQL\Workbench\ where "C:\username\AppData\Roaming\" is the
value of your %AppData% Windows system variable.
Also, uninstalling Workbench does not remove the .mysqlworkbench schema that Workbench creates
when sharing SQL snippets across a MySQL connection. For additional information about shared snippets,
see Section 8.1.5, “SQL Additions - Snippets Tab”.
2.4 MySQL Workbench on Linux

2.4.1 Installing
There are binary distributions of MySQL Workbench available for several variants of Linux, including
Fedora, Oracle Linux, and Ubuntu. For general requirements and specific installation instructions, see the
sections that follow.
• Requirements for Linux
• Installing DEB packages
• Installing RPM packages
• Installing Oracle Enterprise Linux and Similar
Installation options include:
• Official MySQL Yum or APT repository packages: These binaries are built by the MySQL Release
team. For additional information about installing these, see Yum or APT. They contain the newest
versions of MySQL Workbench. Typically this package is named mysql-workbench-community.
• Your Linux distributions repository packages: These binaries are built and maintained by members
of the Linux distribution you use, and not by the MySQL team. They are stable but the releases often lag
behind. Typically this package is named mysql-workbench.
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Installing
• Download official MySQL packages: Downloads are available at https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/

workbench.
• Download the source code and compile yourself: The source code is available at https://
dev.mysql.com/downloads/workbench as a tar.gz or RPM package.
Note
32-bit binary builds are not available as of MySQL Workbench 6.2.0. You can use
the source code to build your own 32-bit version, as needed.
The procedure for installing on Linux depends on which Linux distribution you are using.

• The requirements for Linux are embedded within their respective packages. Use the platform specific
tool (for example, yum or apt) to install the package and their dependencies.
• The Save password in vault functionality requires gnome-keyring-daemon to store the passwords.
Note that KDE systems use their own ksecretservice implementation.
• For Linux and macOS, the MySQL server administration features require sudo command privileges
to execute several commands. The sudo user must be capable of executing the following system
commands:
/usr/bin/sudo
/usr/bin/nohup
/usr/bin/uptime
/usr/bin/which
/usr/bin/stat
/bin/bash
/bin/mkdir
/bin/rm
/bin/rmdir
/bin/dd
/bin/cp
/bin/ls
Additionally, the sudo user must keep the HOME environment variable when executing system
commands, which means adding the following entry to the /etc/sudoers file safely by using the
visudo command:
For MySQL Workbench to execute MySQL Enterprise Backup commands, the sudo command user
must also be able to execute the MySQL Enterprise Backup binary.
Installing DEB packages

On Ubuntu, and other systems that use the Debian package scheme, you can either download and
install .deb packages or use the APT package manager.
Using the APT Package Manager
Important
Your Linux distribution includes MySQL Workbench builds where "apt-get install
mysql-workbench" will install their build of the MySQL Workbench package. To use
61
Installing
the official MySQL Workbench builds as provided by the MySQL Release team, you
must install the official MySQL APT repository and choose the "mysql-workbench-
community" package instead of "mysql-workbench".
• First, install the MySQL APT repository as described in the MySQL APT Repository documentation. For
example:
shell> sudo dpkg -i mysql-apt-config_0.5.3-1_all.deb
shell> sudo apt-get update
• Next, install MySQL Workbench. You might have multiple Workbench packages available, so choose the
"mysql-workbench-community" version. For example:
shell> sudo apt-get install mysql-workbench-community
Installing a Package Manually
You install MySQL Workbench using a command such as:

shell> sudo dpkg -i package.deb
package.deb is the MySQL Workbench package name; for example, mysql-workbench-

community-version1ubu1404-amd64.deb, where version is the MySQL Workbench version
number.
Note
You may be warned that certain libraries are not available, depending on what
you already have installed. Install the required libraries and then install the MySQL
Workbench package again.
Installing RPM packages

On Red Hat-based systems, and other systems that use the RPM package format, you can either
download and install RPM packages or use the Yum package manager.
Note
Enterprise Linux systems, such as Oracle Linux and Red Hat, may require access
to the EPEL package repository. For additional information about installing EPEL,
see Installing Oracle Enterprise Linux and Similar.
Using the Yum Package Manager
Your Linux distribution includes MySQL Workbench builds where "yum install mysql-workbench" will install
their build of the MySQL Workbench package. To use the official MySQL Workbench builds as provided
by the MySQL Release team, you must install the official MySQL Yum repository and choose the "mysql-
workbench-community" package instead of "mysql-workbench".
• First, install the MySQL Yum repository as described in the MySQL Yum Repository documentation. For
example:
shell> sudo rpm -Uvh mysql-community-release-el7-7.noarch.rpm
• Next, install MySQL Workbench. You might have multiple Workbench packages available, so choose the
"mysql-workbench-community" version. For example:
shell> sudo yum install mysql-workbench-community
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Launching
Manually Installing a Package

shell> sudo rpm -i package.rpm
package.rpm is the MySQL Workbench package name; for example, mysql-workbench-

community-version-1fc10.x86_64.rpm, where version is the MySQL Workbench version number.
Installing Oracle Enterprise Linux and Similar

MySQL Workbench requires access to the EPEL repository only if you are working with spatial data,
but not for general use. Earlier versions of MySQL Workbench (before 8.0.18) require access to it for all
use cases. EPEL is a repository with additional RPM packages that are not part of the core RHEL/OEL
distribution. This includes packages (such as tinyxml) that MySQL Workbench requires.
You need to set up the EPEL repository in yum to resolve the required dependencies. For example, using
Oracle Linux 6.8 you would:
shell> wget http://download.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/6/i386/epel-release-6-8.noarch.rpm
shell> rpm -ivh epel-release-6-8.noarch.rpm
shell> yum repolist
Loaded plugins: refresh-packagekit, rhnplugin

repo id repo name status
epel Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux 6 - x86_64 7,124
These instructions also apply to similar Linux distributions such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux, CentOS, and
Scientific Linux.
Next, follow the RPM-based installation documentation at Installing RPM packages.
2.4.2 Launching
After MySQL Workbench has been installed, it can be launched by selecting Applications, Programming,
MySQL Workbench from the main menu.
MySQL Workbench can also be launched from the command line on Linux. Type the command:
shell> /usr/bin/mysql-workbench --help
This will display the available command-line options:
mysql-workbench [<options>] [<name of a model file or sql script>]
Options:
--force-sw-render Force Xlib rendering
--force-opengl-render Force OpenGL rendering
--query [<connection>|<connection string>]
If named connection is specified it will be opened, else connection
will be created based on the given connection string, which should
be in form <user>@<host>:<port>
--admin <instance> Open a administration tab to the named instance
--upgrade-mysql-dbs Open a migration wizard tab
--model <model file> Open the given EER model file
--script <sql file> Open the given SQL file in an connection, best in conjunction with
a query parameter
--run-script <file> Execute Python code from a file
--run <code> Execute the given Python code
--run-python <code> Execute the given Python code
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Uninstalling
--migration Open the Migration Wizard tab

--quit-when-done Quit Workbench when the script is done
--log-to-stderr Also log to stderr
--help, -h Show command line options and exit
--log-level=<level> Valid levels are: error, warning, info, debug1, debug2, debug3
--verbose, -v Enable diagnostics output
--version Show Workbench version number and exit
--open <file> Open the given file at startup (deprecated, use script, model etc.)
2.4.3 Uninstalling
The procedure for uninstalling MySQL Workbench on Linux depends on the package you are using.
Note
When using apt, the official package name at dev.mysql.com is mysql-

workbench-community, whereas most Linux distributions use the name mysql-
workbench. Adjust the following commands accordingly.
Uninstalling DEB packages
To uninstall a Debian package, use the following:

shell> sudo apt-get remove mysql-workbench-community
Or, alternatively:
shell> sudo dpkg -r mysql-workbench-community
This command does not remove the configuration files. If you wish to also remove the configuration files,
use this command:
shell> sudo dpkg --purge mysql-workbench-community
Uninstalling RPM packages
Note
When using yum, the official package name at dev.mysql.com is mysql-

workbench-community, whereas most Linux distributions use the name mysql-
workbench. Adjust the following commands accordingly.
To uninstall an RPM package, use this command:

shell> sudo yum remove mysql-workbench-community
Or, alternatively:
shell> sudo rpm -e mysql-workbench-community
This command does not remove the configuration files.
What Is Not Removed

By default, uninstalling MySQL Workbench does not remove your Workbench configuration directory.
This directory includes your MySQL connections, configuration settings, cache files, SQL snippets and
history, logs, custom modules, and more. These files are stored under your user's .mysql/workbench/
directory.
64
MySQL Workbench on macOS
Note
By default, the Workbench configuration directory is ~username/mysql/

workbench/ where "~username" is the path to your user's home directory.
2.5 MySQL Workbench on macOS

2.5.1 Installing
MySQL Workbench for macOS is distributed as a DMG file. The file is named mysql-workbench-
community-version-osx.dmg, where version is the MySQL Workbench version. MySQL Workbench
provides platform support for the latest version of macOS only (see supported platforms). The previous
version continues to be supported for a transition period of six months after each new version of macOS is
released.
Downloads are available at https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/workbench/.
To install MySQL Workbench on macOS, download the file. Double-click the downloaded file. You will be
presented with the installation window shown in the figure that follows.
Figure 2.1 MySQL Workbench macOS Installation Window
Drag the MySQL Workbench icon onto the Applications icon as instructed. MySQL Workbench is now
installed.
You can now launch MySQL Workbench from the Applications folder, or from the command line:
shell> /Applications/MySQLWorkbench.app/Contents/MacOS/MySQLWorkbench --help
This will display the available command-line options:
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Launching
MySQLWorkbench [<options>] [<name of a model file or sql script>]

Options:
--query [<connection>|<connection string>]
If named connection is specified it will be opened,
else connection will be created based on the given connection string,
which should be in form <user>@<host>:<port>
--admin <instance> Open a administration tab to the named instance
--upgrade-mysql-dbs Open a migration wizard tab
--model <model file> Open the given EER model file
--script <sql file> Open the given SQL file in an connection, best in conjunction
with a query parameter
--run-script <file> Execute Python code from a file
--run <code> Execute the given Python code
--run-python <code> Execute the given Python code
--migration Open the Migration Wizard tab
--quit-when-done Quit Workbench when the script is done
--log-to-stderr Also log to stderr
--help, -h Show command line options and exit
--log-level=<level> Valid levels are: error, warning, info, debug1, debug2, debug3
--verbose, -v Enable diagnostics output
--version Show Workbench version number and exit
--open <file> Open the given file at startup (deprecated, use script, model etc.)
2.5.2 Launching
To launch MySQL Workbench on macOS, open the Applications folder in the Finder, then double-click
MySQL Workbench.
It is also possible to start MySQL Workbench from the command line:

shell> open MySQLWorkbench.app [options] [model_file]
Specifying options and/or a model file is optional.
2.5.3 Uninstalling
To uninstall MySQL Workbench for macOS, locate MySQL Workbench in the Applications folder, right-
click, and select Move to Trash.
What Is Not Removed

By default, uninstalling MySQL Workbench does not remove your Workbench configuration directory. This
directory includes your MySQL connections, configuration settings, cache files, SQL snippets and history,
logs, custom modules, and more. These files are stored under your user's MySQL/Workbench/ folder.
Note
By default, the Workbench configuration directory is ~username/Library/

Application Support/MySQL/Workbench where "~username" is the path to
your user's home directory.
66
Chapter 3 Configuration
Table of Contents
3.1 User Accessibility Options ........................................................................................................... 67
3.2 Workbench Preferences .............................................................................................................. 71
3.2.1 General Editors Preferences ............................................................................................ 72
3.2.2 SQL Editor Preferences ................................................................................................... 73
3.2.3 Administration Preferences ............................................................................................... 80
3.2.4 Modeling Preferences ...................................................................................................... 81
3.2.5 Fonts and Colors Preferences .......................................................................................... 86
3.2.6 SSH Preferences ............................................................................................................. 87
3.2.7 Other Preferences ............................................................................................................ 89
3.3 MySQL Workbench Settings and Log Files .................................................................................. 90
3.4 Common Preferences and Configurations .................................................................................... 92
3.1 User Accessibility Options

MySQL Workbench includes options to improve user accessibility that you can select from the Workbench
Preferences dialog. To open the dialog, click Edit and then Preferences from the menu.
Fonts
Modeling fonts are adjustable from the Appearance section of the Modeling list. The following figure
shows the color presets and fonts.
67
Fonts
Figure 3.1 Appearance Preferences
Choose the character set from the Configure Fonts For list (or leave the default setting) and then adjust
the model fonts to fit your requirements.
The font types and sizes for other screen elements are set from the Fonts & Colors preferences. The next
figure shows the default fonts for the SQL Editor, Resultset Grid, Scripting Shell, and Script Editor.
68
Fonts
Figure 3.2 Fonts & Color Preferences
Note
Font changes require a refresh or restart before they take effect.
The following figure shows an example of the SQL Editor after changing the Editor font size from 10 to 30.
69
Color Presets
Figure 3.3 SQL Editor with Font size 30
Color Presets
Color presets in the Appearance preferences enable you to define the colors used in EER diagrams for
the tables, views, layers, and notes. You can edit or add additional color choices by entering their ASCII
values.
Theming
On Windows, the Fonts & Colors preference tab also includes a "Color Scheme" configuration section.
From here, you can enable the High Contrast color theme (see the figure that follows). This theme
preference affects the MySQL Workbench GUI.
70
Microsoft Active Accessibility (MSAA)
Figure 3.4 High Contrast Preference
Microsoft Active Accessibility (MSAA)

On Windows, MySQL Workbench supports MSAA, which enables the use of screen reader applications
with MySQL Workbench.
3.2 Workbench Preferences

Select Preferences from the Edit menu to configure MySQL Workbench to your specific needs. The
Workbench Preferences sidebar menu is divided into the following sections:
• General Editors: General-purpose editor options, such as SQL parsing options.
• SQL Editor: SQL editor related preferences that also includes subsections for the Query Editor, Object
Editor, and SQL Execution.
• Administration: Tools used by the Administrator functionality.
• Modeling: Model related preferences that also includes subsections for Defaults, MySQL (MySQL
specific settings), Diagram (EER), and Appearance (model colors and fonts).
• Fonts & Colors: Change fonts for tools such as the SQL editor and results grid.
• SSH: Set secure connection timeouts and file locations.
71
General Editors Preferences
• Others: Miscellaneous options.
A more detailed discussion of these options follows.
3.2.1 General Editors Preferences

This section describes the preference options that apply to general-purpose editors (see the figure that
follows).
Figure 3.5 Preferences: General Editors
SQL Parsing in Code Editors
SQL properties that can be set include the SQL_MODE, case-sensitivity of identifiers, and the SQL delimiter
used.
• Default SQL_MODE for syntax checker: [ blank ]
Optionally configure the SQL_MODE for the SQL editor's SQL syntax checker.
The document property SqlMode defines SQL_MODE for all operations affecting SQL parsing at the
document scope. The purpose of this option is to preserve the consistency of SQL statements within the
document.
The property has the following functions:
72
SQL Editor Preferences
• Sets the SQL_MODE DBMS session variable to the value stored in the SqlMode property of the
document when performing reverse engineering, forward engineering, or synchronization operations.
• Honors the SQL_MODE values defined in SqlMode so that SQL parsing is correct.
Only a subset of all possible SQL_MODE values affect the MySQL Workbench SQL parser. These
values are: ANSI_QUOTES, HIGH_NOT_PRECEDENCE, IGNORE_SPACE, NO_BACKSLASH_ESCAPES,
PIPES_AS_CONCAT. Other values do not affect the MySQL Workbench SQL parser and are ignored.
If the value of SqlMode is not set, the default value of the SQL_MODE session variable defined by
the server stays unchanged during operations with the server. However, the MySQL Workbench
SQL parser behaves as if SQL_MODE is also not set. This may potentially lead to inconsistencies in
parsing of SQL statements stored in the document. If you choose to not set the SqlMode property,
ensure that the default SQL_MODE variable defined by the server does not contain any values from the
following list: ANSI_QUOTES, HIGH_NOT_PRECEDENCE, IGNORE_SPACE, NO_BACKSLASH_ESCAPES,
PIPES_AS_CONCAT.
The SqlMode property is defined in two locations: globally and at document scope. MySQL Workbench
uses the global property to initialize the document property for each new document created. For each
document, the property value defined at document scope always has higher priority over the one defined
globally.
• SQL Identifiers are Case Sensitive: Enabled by default. Whether to treat identifiers separately if their
names differ only in letter case.
• Non-Standard SQL Delimiter: [$$]. Define the SQL statement delimiter to be different from the normally
used delimiter (such as the ; character). Change this value if the delimiter you normally use, specifically
in stored routines, happens to be the current setting.
Indentation
• Tab key inserts spaces instead of tabs
• Indent width: [4] How many spaces to insert when indenting with the tab key.
The number of spaces inserted after pressing the Tab key -- this assumes that the Tab key inserts
spaces instead of tabs option is enabled.
• Tab width: [4] How many spaces wide are tab characters.
The number of spaces defined for tab characters within MySQL Workbench.
3.2.2 SQL Editor Preferences

This section provides configuration options that affect the SQL editor functionality in MySQL Workbench.
As the following figure shows, the SQL editor preferences include both general options and others that
apply to specific editors:
• Preferences: SQL Editor: Main
• Preferences: SQL Editor: Query Editor
• Preferences: SQL Editor: Object Editors
• Preferences: SQL Editor: SQL Execution
73
Preferences: SQL Editor: Main

Figure 3.6 Preferences: Main SQL Editor Section
SQL Editor
• Save snapshot of open editors on close
Enabled by default. Permits saving and reloading the SQL editor tabs after MySQL Workbench is closed
and reopened (including after an unexpected shutdown).
• Auto-save scripts interval: [ 10 seconds ]
Frequency of the automatic saves. Scripts are restored from the last saved version, if MySQL
Workbench shuts down.
• Create new tabs as Query tabs instead of File
By default, opening a new SQL editor tab opens as an SQL File tab. Select this option if you prefer the
simpler Query tabs that, for example, do not prompt to be saved when closed.
• Restore expanded state of the active schema objects
Enabled by default. Group nodes that were previously expanded in the active schema when the SQL
editor was last closed are re-expanded and loaded.
74
Sidebar
• Show Schema Contents in Schema Tree
Enabled by default. Enumerating, populating, and drawing large numbers of items can significantly
increase loading times. For this reason, this facility can be switched off for models containing large
numbers of schemas and tables.
• Show Metadata and Internal Schemas
Whether to show metadata and internal schemas in the schema tree, such as INFORMATION_SCHEMA,
mysql, and schemas starting with the period character (.).
MySQL Session
• DBMS connection keep-alive interval (in seconds): [600]
Time interval between sending keep-alive messages to the DBMS. Set the value to 0 to not send keep-
alive messages.
• DBMS connection read timeout interval (in seconds):[30]
The maximum amount of time the query can take to return data from the DBMS. Set the value to 0 to
skip the read timeout.
• DBMS connection timeout interval (in seconds): [60]
Maximum time to wait before a connection attempt is aborted.
Other
• Internal Workbench Schema: [.mysqlworkbench]
This schema is used by MySQL Workbench to store information required for certain operations, such as
saving shared SQL snippets.
• Safe Updates (rejects UPDATEs and DELETEs with no restrictions)
Enabled by default. Prevents UPDATE and DELETE queries that lack a corresponding key in a WHERE
clause, or lack a LIMIT clause, from executing. This option requires a MySQL server reconnection.
When selected, this preference makes it possible to catch UPDATE and DELETE statements with keys
that are not used properly and that can probably accidentally change or delete a large number of rows.
Preferences: SQL Editor: Query Editor
The following figure shows the preference options that apply to the query editor.
75
Figure 3.7 Preferences: SQL Editor: Query Editor
Productivity
• Enable Code Completion in Editors
The SQL Editor offers autocomplete functionality by either pressing the keyboard shortcut (Modifier +
Space), or it will start automatically if the Automatically Start Code Completion preference is enabled.
• Automatically Start Code Completion
Enabled by default. This option automatically executes the code autocomplete feature while editing
SQL in the SQL editor. If disabled, you can instead use the keyboard shortcut Modifier + Space to
execute the autocomplete routine.
• Use UPPERCASE keywords on completion
Normally keywords are shown and inserted as they come from the code editor's configuration file. This
setting will always write completed keywords as uppercase.
• Comment type to use for comment shortcut: [--]
Defaults to the -- comment characters, with the # character as an alternative comment option.
• Max syntax error count: [ 100 ]
76
Large complex scripts may contain errors. Further, a syntax error early on can lead to subsequent syntax
errors. For these reasons, it is possible to limit the number of errors displayed using this option. The
default is 100 error messages.
• Max number of result sets: [ 50 ]
Maximum number of result sets for SQL queries that can be opened for a single SQL editor. Defaults to
50. Reaching the limit emits a warning.
SQL Beautifier
• Change keywords to UPPER CASE
Enabled by default. Executing the SQL beautifier sets all SQL keywords to uppercase.
Preferences: SQL Editor: Object Editors

The following figure shows the preference options that apply to all object editors.
Figure 3.8 Preferences: SQL Editor: Object Editors
Online DDL
• Default algorithm for ALTER table: [ Default ]
Sets the default algorithm when performing ALTER TABLE operations in MySQL Workbench. The
setting can also be adjusted for each ALTER TABLE operation. Options include Default, In-Place
(preferred), and Copy. See the online DDL documentation for more information.
77
• Default lock for ALTER table: [ Default ]
Sets the default lock setting to allow concurrent queries with ALTER TABLE in MySQL Workbench.
This setting can also be adjusted for each ALTER TABLE operation. Options include Default, None,
Shared, and Exclusive. See the online DDL documentation for more information.
Views
• Reformat DDL for Views
Enabled by default. Determines whether to automatically reformat the View DDL that is returned by the
MySQL server.
Note
MySQL server instances do not store the formatting information for View
definitions.
Preferences: SQL Editor: SQL Execution

The following figure shows the preference options that apply to SQL execution.
Figure 3.9 Preferences: SQL Editor: SQL Execution
General
• Max. query length to store in history (in bytes): [ 65536 ]
78
Queries that exceed this size are not be saved in the history when executed. Setting this value to 0
eliminates the limit (all queries are saved).
• Continue on SQL script execution on errors (by default)
Should an error occur while executing a script, this option causes the execution to continue for the
remainder of the script.
• New connections use auto commit mode
Enabled by default. Toggles the default autocommit mode for new connections. When enabled, the
editor commits each statement immediately.
Note
All query tabs in the same connection share the same transaction. To have
independent transactions, you must open a new connection.
• Progress status update interval (in milliseconds): [ 500 ]
When executing long running queries over a slow connection, you may need to increase this value to
prevent excess load on the connection.
SELECT Query Results
• Limit Rows
Enabled by default. Queries can sometimes return an excessive number of rows, which can heavily
load the connection, and take time to display in MySQL Workbench. To prevent this, you can set a more
moderate value here. This limit is defined by the Limit Rows Count option.
• Limit Rows Count: [ 200 ]
Specify the maximum number of result rows to return.
• Max. Field Value Length to Display (in bytes): [ 256 ]
To avoid display problems due to excessive field length, it is possible to set the maximum field length to
display (in bytes).
• Treat BINARY/VARBINARY as non-binary character string
Binary byte string values are not displayed by default in the results grid, but are instead marked as BLOB
values. These can then be viewed or edited with the BLOB editor. Nonbinary character string values are
displayed in the results grid, and can be edited in the grid cell or using the BLOB editor.
If this option is turned on, data truncation may result: Binary byte string values may contain null bytes as
part of their valid data, whereas for nonbinary character strings, a null byte terminates the string.
• Confirm Data Changes
Enabled by default. If you edit table data in the SQL Editor and then click Applying changes to data,
MySQL Workbench launches a wizard to step through your changes before applying them. If this option
is deselected, the changes are applied to the server without the wizard being displayed and without
giving you a chance to review the changes.
• Preserve Row Filter
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Administration Preferences
Enabled by default. This option preserves the active filter on resultset changes. The filter is reset when
the option is disabled.
3.2.3 Administration Preferences

This section provides configuration options that affect the administration functionality in MySQL Workbench
(see the figure that follows).
Figure 3.10 Preferences: Administration
Data Export and Import
• Path to mysqldump Tool: [ blank ]
Path to your local mysqldump binary. Leave it blank to use the bundled mysqldump binary.
• Path to mysql Tool: [ blank ]
Path to your local mysql client binary. Leave it blank to use the bundled mysql binary.
• Export Directory Path: [ default directory ]
Directory where your exported mysql dumps are located.
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Modeling Preferences
3.2.4 Modeling Preferences

This section provides configuration options that affect the modeling functionality in MySQL Workbench (see
the figure that follows). Modeling preferences include specific categories of options:
• Preferences: Modeling: Main
• Preferences: Modeling: Defaults
• Preferences: Modeling: MySQL
• Preferences: Modeling: Diagram
• Preferences: Modeling: Appearance
Preferences: Modeling: Main

Figure 3.11 Preferences: Modeling
EER Modeler
• Automatically reopen previous model at start
Select this check box if you want the model on which you previously worked to be automatically
reopened when you start MySQL Workbench.
• Force use of software based rendering for EER diagrams
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MySQL Workbench uses OpenGL for rendering when available. However, due to faulty drivers,
problems do occasionally occur. These issues can be resolved by selecting the software rendering
option here.
• Model undo history size: [ 10 ]
You can limit the size of the undo history here. Set this value to 0 to have an unlimited undo history.
Defaults to 10 undo history operations.
• Auto-save model interval: [ 1 minute ]
An open model that has not been saved will automatically be saved after this period. On loading a
model file, MySQL Workbench notifies you if the file was not previously saved correctly (possibly due
to an unexpected shutdown or power failure). MySQL Workbench can then attempt to recover the last
autosaved version. For automatic recovery to be available on a new file, save the file at least one time.
Preferences: Modeling: Defaults

Sets default values for modeling object names (see the figure that follows).
Figure 3.12 Preferences: Modeling: Defaults
The following tables show the object names and their default values.
Column Defaults
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Object Name Default Value

PK Column Name id%table%
PK Column Type INT
Column Name %table%col
Column Type VARCHAR(45)
Foreign Key/Relationship Defaults
Object Name Default Value

FK Name fk%stable_%dtable%
Column Name %table%_%column%
ON UPDATE NO ACTION
ON DELETE NO ACTION
Associative Table Name %stable%_has_%dtable%
Preferences: Modeling: MySQL

This preference group enables you to set model-related options specific to your MySQL version (see the
figure that follows).
Figure 3.13 Preferences: Modeling: MySQL
83
Model
• Default Target MySQL Version: [ version ]
A limited subset of validation procedures and table editor options are affected by this MySQL version
number. Specify the version number in either MAJOR.MINOR (8.0) or MAJOR.MINOR.RELEASE (8.0.19)
format.
Model Table Defaults
• Default Storage Engine:
Tables created in MySQL Workbench are defined using this default storage engine. Values include:
InnoDB, MyISAM, ndbcluster, MEMORY, FEDERATED, ARCHIVE, CSV, BLACKHOLE, and MRG_MyISAM.
Forward Engineering and Synchronization
• SQL_MODE to be used in generated scripts:
Defines the SQL_MODE used by Forward Engineering and Synchronization. Defaults to

ONLY_FULL_GROUP_BY,STRICT_TRANS_TABLES,NO_ZERO_IN_DATE,NO_ZERO_DATE,ERROR_FOR_DIVISION_
Preferences: Modeling: Diagram

The following figure shows the preference options that apply to model-related diagrams.
Figure 3.14 Preferences: Modeling: Diagram
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All Objects
• Expand New Objects
Enabled by default. Sets the initial state of newly created objects to expanded (or collapsed, if disabled).
• Propagate Object Color Changes to All Diagrams
Enabled by default. If an object's Figure color is changed, all figures in all diagrams that represent the
same object are also updated.
Tables
• Show Column Types
Enabled by default. Shows the column types along their names in table figures.
• Show Schema Name
Shows the owning schema name in the title bar of table figures.
• Max. Length of ENUMs and SETs to Display: [20]
• Show Column Flags
Shows column flags, such as NOT NULL and UNSIGNED, along their names in table figures.
• Max. Number of Columns to Display [30] Larger tables will be truncated.
Routines
• Trim Routine Names Longer Than [20] characters.
Relationships/Connections
• Draw Line Crossings (slow in large diagrams)
• Show Captions
• Center Captions Over Line
Preferences: Modeling: Appearance
Use this preference group to set the available colors for the objects that appear on an EER diagram
canvas. As the following figure shows, you can also add colors as needed.
For related information, see Section 3.1, “User Accessibility Options”.
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Fonts and Colors Preferences
Figure 3.15 Preferences: Modeling: Appearance
Color Presets
These are the available colors used while modeling, and they are divided into two sections. First, the colors
used when creating tables and views. The second section are available colors for items such as layers and
notes.
Fonts
These define the fonts and font sizes used while modeling.
3.2.5 Fonts and Colors Preferences

The following figure shows the preference options that apply to fonts and colors.
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SSH Preferences
Figure 3.16 Preferences: Fonts and Colors
Fonts
• SQL Editor: [Consolas 10] Global font for SQL text editors.
• Resultset Grid: [Tahoma 8] Resultset grid in SQL editor.
• Scripting Shell: [Consolas 10] Scripting shell output area.
• Script Editor: [Consolas 10] Code editors in scripting shell.
Color Scheme
The scheme that determines the core colors. On Microsoft Windows, select the scheme that determines
the user-interface colors.
3.2.6 SSH Preferences

The following figure shows the preference options that apply to SSH items, such as timeouts.
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SSH Preferences
Figure 3.17 Preferences: SSH
Timeouts
• SSH Connect Timeout: [10]
SSH connect timeout interval in seconds.
• SSH Read Write Timeout: [5]
SSH read and write timeout interval in seconds.
• SSH Command timeout: [1]
SSH command timeout interval in seconds.
• SSH Command Retry Count: [3]
SSH command retry count.
• SSH BufferSize: [10240]
SSH buffer size in bytes.
• SSH Maximum File Size: [104857600]
The maximum file size that is allowed to be transferred by SSH.
• SSH Command Execution log: [104857600]
The maximum file size that is allowed to be transferred by SSH.
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Other Preferences
Use the following options to set SSH file paths:
• Path to SSH config file:
Click browse to select a configuration file.
• Path to SSH known hosts file:
Click browse to select a hosts file.
3.2.7 Other Preferences

The following figure shows the preference options that apply to general items, such as the home screen
and logs.
Figure 3.18 Preferences: Others
Home Screen
• Show Welcome Message on Connections Screen
Enabled by default. This option displays or hides the text and links of the welcome message when
MySQL Connections is selected from the side panel and MySQL Workbench is restarted.
Timeouts
• Migration Connection Timeout: [60]
Maximum time to wait before a connection is aborted.
To set an alternative online service:
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MySQL Workbench Settings and Log Files
• URL location to display geometry point: [http://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=%LAT

%&mlon=%LON%]
Replace the default value with an alternative URL. For example, to use Google Maps rather than
OpenStreetMap, enter https://www.google.com/maps/?q=%LAT%,%LON%.
Others
• Allow more than one instance of MySQL Workbench to run
By default, only one instance of MySQL Workbench can be running at the same time. This setting is
available only on Windows.
Note
All MySQL Workbench instances share the same files and settings, so enable at
your own risk.
Logs
• Log Level: [ info ]
Determines how serious a message has to before it gets logged. For example, an error is more serious
than a warning, a warning is more serious than an informational message, and so on. From lowest to
highest, the levels are: none, error, warning, info, debug1, debug2, and debug3. Defaults to the
info level.
3.3 MySQL Workbench Settings and Log Files

MySQL Workbench saves configuration, cache, and log-related files and directories on your system. These
files are saved in a directory assigned to the current user as defined by MySQL Workbench. The following
table shows the default file path by platform.
Table 3.1 Default Local Configuration Base File Path
Operating System File Path

Windows %AppData%\MySQL\Workbench\
macOS ~username/Library/Application Support/MySQL/Workbench/
Linux ~username/.mysql/workbench/
The next table provides a brief description of these directories and files.
Table 3.2 Local Workbench Files and Directory Descriptions
Directory or File Description

cache/ General behaviors are stored per-connection in *.cache files, and column
widths as *.column_widths files.
log/ Log files include MySQL Workbench startup information, and also per-
connection SQL action results performed in MySQL Workbench.
scripts/, modules/, Saved user scripts, modules, and libraries that enables you to extend MySQL
and libraries/ Workbench capabilities.
sql_history/ Queries executed in MySQL Workbench are stored here, and are available
from within MySQL Workbench.
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cache/ Directory
Directory or File Description

sql_workspaces/ Configuration details, such as the tab order or schema tree, are stored here by
connection instance.
snippets/ Saved SQL snippets are stored here. For additional information, see
Section 8.1.5, “SQL Additions - Snippets Tab”.
audit_cache/ Cache storage by the Audit Log inspector. For additional information, see
Section 6.6, “MySQL Audit Inspector Interface”.
connections.xml Saved MySQL server connection information, as seen on the home screen tab.
For information about backing up and restoring this file, see The Tools Menu.
server_instances.xmlStores your MySQL server information, as it relates to your MySQL
connections.
wb_options.xml Stores your preferences, both configured and default.
wb_state.xml Stores the previous user-interface state. You can delete this file if you
encounter a problem with the MySQL Workbench user interface.
cache/ Directory
The cache/ directory contains cache files in the user's MySQL Workbench directory. All cache files are
stored as SQLite 3 databases, and they are not meant to be edited outside of MySQL Workbench. The
types of cache files are:
• *.column_widths:
These are the saved column widths after adjusting columns in the SQL editor's results grid. The fields
include column_id, stored as column_name::db_name::table_name, and width, stored as an integer of
character length.
• *.cache:
This information (schemas, engines, and other global information) serves as a quick lookup source for
the SQL editor's auto completion functionality, and is implicitly updated whenever the schema tree is
updated.
All cache/ file names begin with the MySQL connection name. For example, the column width file is named
Local_instance_3306.column_widths for a MySQL connection named "Local Instance 3306".
Cached files remain after a connection is either renamed or deleted.
log/ Directory
MySQL Workbench start up and SQL actions are logged and stored in the log/ directory. This directory is
in the user's MySQL Workbench directory.
Note
To find these text files, from the main Workbench navigation menu choose Help
and then Show Log Files.
• wb*.log:
Debugging information is generated when MySQL Workbench is started and unexpectedly stopped.
Information includes paths used, modules and plugins loaded, system information, and more. The log
files are useful when reporting a MySQL Workbench bug.
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scripts/, modules/, and Libraries/ Directories
The log files rotates when MySQL Workbench is started, in that wb.log is renamed to wb.1.log,
wb.log is reset, and the previous wb.1.log file is renamed to wb.2.log, and so on, all the way up to
wb.9.log.
• sql_actions_*.log:
A log of all SQL execution results but without the data, for debugging purposes.
The SQL editor's SQL history does not originate from here, as it is stored in the sql_history directory.
scripts/, modules/, and Libraries/ Directories

Custom user script, module, and library files are stored in the scripts, modules, and libraries
directories. These user files are accessible from the file browser in the Workbench Scripting Shell. For
additional information about user scripts, see Section C.5, “The Workbench Scripting Shell”. For more
information about user modules, see Section C.2, “Modules” and Section C.3, “Plugins and Tools”.
sql_history/ Directory
SQL statements executed in the SQL editor are saved in the sql_history directory. They are
stored as plain text files that are separated one per day (such as 2015-12-15) and they contain your
MySQL Workbench SQL statement history for all MySQL connections. For additional information, see
Section 8.1.7, “Output Panel”.
sql_workspaces/ Directory
Workspace information is saved to the sql_workspaces directory by connection automatically. MySQL
Workbench generates a subdirectory that persists between work sessions for each connection tab
that you open. It uses the name of the connection, appended with a sequential number, to represent
the order of each connection tab. For example, opening two connection tabs for a connection named
Local instance MySQL80 creates two subdirectories: local_instance_MySQL80-1.autosave
and local_instance_MySQL80-2.autosave. The file extension changes from .autosave to
.workspace when you close the connection tab.
snippets/ Directory
SQL snippets used by the SQL editor are stored in the snippets directory. These files include bundled
snippets (such as "SQL DDL Statements") and custom snippets saved under the My Snippets tab. For
additional information, see Section 8.1.5, “SQL Additions - Snippets Tab”.
3.4 Common Preferences and Configurations

Commonly used configuration options and preferences include:
• Rescan for Local MySQL Instances: Right-click on the home screen, and this option will scan your
system for MySQL instances and add connection tiles to the home screen.
• Safe Updates: When enabled (default), Workbench will not execute UPDATE or DELETE statements if
a key is not defined in the WHERE clause. In other words, Workbench attempts to prevent big mistakes,
such as deleting a large number of (or all) rows. Set from the SQL Editor preferences tab.
For example, DELETE FROM foo is considered unsafe, whereas DELETE FROM foo WHERE id = 1
is safe and will always execute.
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Common Preferences and Configurations
• Default Target MySQL Version: For modeling, set this Modeling MySQL preference to your target
MySQL Server version. This affects the generated syntax and database structure in relation to how
MySQL changed over time. Having the wrong version may generate invalid syntax for your MySQL
server.
• Combine Management Tools and Schema Tree: This refers to the left panel in the SQL Editor, where
the Management and Schemas areas are on one or two separate tabs.
This behavior can also be toggled at runtime by clicking the icon.
• Save snapshot of open editors on close: By default, Workbench saves all query tabs and reopens
them when you restart Workbench. Use the related Auto-save scripts interval setting to modify its
behavior. Both are set from the SQL Editor preferences tab.
Related behavior: Right-click on an SQL tab and choose either Save tab (to save the tab to a file) or
Close Other Tabs to close all other SQL editor tabs.
• Enable Code Completion in Editors: Code suggestions can be activated either manually, or
automatically if the related Automatically Start Code Completion setting is also enabled. In addition,
enable Use UPPERCASE keywords on completion to code suggest upper case SQL keywords, such
as INSERT instead of insert.
Related behavior: The Context Help right panel in the SQL editor displays documentation for SQL
statements, and is disabled/enabled from the right panel. For example, typing INSERT will load
documentation for the INSERT statement in the right panel.
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Chapter 4 Home Screen Tab
When started, MySQL Workbench opens to the home screen tab. Initially, the screen displays a welcome
message and links to Browse Documentation >, Read the Blog >, and Discuss on the Forums >.
In addition, the home screen provides quick access to MySQL connections, models, and the MySQL
Workbench Migration Wizard.
As depicted in the following figure, a home-screen side panel enables you to toggle between MySQL
Connections (selected in the figure) and Models within the home tab. The last option in the side panel
opens the MySQL Workbench Migration Wizard in a new tab.
Figure 4.1 Home Screen Tab
Note
In MySQL Workbench 6.3.8 and earlier, the home screen combined three sections
titled MySQL Connections, Models, and external Shortcuts.
Workbench Welcome Message. The welcome text and links are optional and can be removed or
restored to the home screen when MySQL Connections is selected from the side panel. Links to the
documentation, blog, and forums are also accessible from the Help menu.
• To remove the text and links, click the X icon above the welcome message.
• To restore the text and links:
1. Click Edit, Preferences, and then select Other.
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MySQL Connections
2. Select the Show Welcome Message on Connections Screen check box and then restart MySQL
Workbench.
MySQL Connections
The connections view ( ) in the side panel, when selected, displays a list of established connections to
local and remote instances of MySQL. It enables you to load, configure, group, and view information about
each MySQL connection. For more information, see Chapter 5, Connections in MySQL Workbench and
Section 5.2, “Creating A New MySQL Connection (Tutorial)”.
Connection Groups. You may also create groups of connections. Create a group by either right-
clicking a connection and choosing the Move to group context menu option, or you may prefix your
connection name with the group name separated by a forward slash (for example, "QA/TestBox") when
you create or configure the connection.
Connection Information. Click Manage Connections from the Database menu (or Edit Connection
from the context menu of each connection) to view connection details.
Models
The models view ( ) in the side panel, when selected, displays your most recently used models. As
the next figure shows, each entry lists the date and time that the model was last opened and shows its
associated database. To the right of the Models title are the following options:
• Plus-sign button (+) adds a new model.
• Folder button (see the figure that follows) enables you to browse for and open saved models.
• More button (>) opens a context menu with additional commands, such as Create EER Model from
Database.
For additional information about modeling, see Chapter 9, Database Design and Modeling.
Figure 4.2 Selecting Models from the Side Panel
MySQL Migration Wizard
The migration view ( ) in the side panel, when selected, opens the Migration tab and displays an
overview of prerequisites for using the wizard. From the Migration tab, you can start a migration process,
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MySQL Migration Wizard
open the ODBC administrator, or view documentation. For detailed instructions on using the wizard, see
Chapter 10, Database Migration Wizard.
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Chapter 5 Connections in MySQL Workbench
Table of Contents
5.1 Creating A New MySQL Connection (Simple) .............................................................................. 99
5.2 Creating A New MySQL Connection (Tutorial) ............................................................................ 100
5.3 Manage Server Connections ..................................................................................................... 111
5.3.1 Standard TCP/IP Connection Method .............................................................................. 113
5.3.2 Local Socket/Pipe Connection Method ............................................................................ 115
5.3.3 Standard TCP/IP over SSH Connection Method .............................................................. 116
5.3.4 SSL Wizard (Certificates) ............................................................................................... 117
5.3.5 Remote Management ..................................................................................................... 121
5.3.6 System Profile ............................................................................................................... 122
5.3.7 Configure Server Management Wizard ............................................................................ 123
5.3.8 The Password Storage Vault .......................................................................................... 126
5.3.9 Updating Old Authentication Protocol Passwords ............................................................. 126
5.4 Client Connections .................................................................................................................... 129
This chapter describes how to create and manage MySQL connections.
5.1 Creating A New MySQL Connection (Simple)

To add a connection, click the [+] icon to the right of the MySQL Connections title on the home screen.
This opens the Setup New Connection form, as the following figure shows.
Figure 5.1 Setup New Connection Form
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Creating A New MySQL Connection (Tutorial)
Important
The Configure Server Management button (bottom left) opens an optional

configuration wizard for setting shell commands on the host. For example,
commands to start/stop the MySQL instance, or to edit configuration file. For more
information, see Section 5.3.7, “Configure Server Management Wizard”.
Fill out the connection details and optionally click Configure Server Management to execute the Server
Management wizard. Click OK to save the connection.
Important
When opening connections, MySQL Workbench automatically sets the client

character set to utf8. Manually changing the client character set, such as using
SET NAMES ..., may cause MySQL Workbench to not correctly display the
characters. For additional information about client character sets, see Connection
Character Sets and Collations.
New MySQL connections are added to the home screen as a tile, and the Section 8.2.1, “Object Browser
and Editor Navigator” describes several MySQL Workbench features to monitor and configure each
connected MySQL server. A single MySQL Workbench instance can open one or multiple MySQL
connections into individual tabs.
For a more detailed overview of this process, see the tutorial titled Section 5.2, “Creating A New MySQL
Connection (Tutorial)”.
5.2 Creating A New MySQL Connection (Tutorial)

This tutorial adds a new connection that can be either an initial connection or an additional connection.
An instance of MySQL server must be installed, started, and accessible to MySQL Workbench before you
begin.
To create a new connection, follow these steps:
1. Launch MySQL Workbench to open the home screen. Existing connections are shown when you click
the MySQL Connections view from the sidebar. No connections exist for first-time users.
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Figure 5.2 Getting Started Tutorial - Home Screen
2. From the MySQL Workbench home screen shown in the previous figure, click the [+] icon near the
MySQL Connections label to open the Setup New Connection wizard.
101
3. Define the Connection Name value, such as MyFirstConnection as the next figure shows.
Figure 5.3 Getting Started Tutorial - Setup New Connection: MyFirstConnection
The default connection values are for a typical local setup, so check them and enter the appropriate
values. If you are unsure, click the Test Connection button to check the connection parameters. Do
not press OK.
Next, optionally click Configure Server Management..., which opens up the Configure Local
Management wizard:
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4. Read the Configure Local Management introduction (shown in the next figure), and press Next to
begin defining the new connection parameters.
Figure 5.4 Getting Started Tutorial - Configure Local Management Introduction
103
5. The connection will now be tested. You should see that the connection was successful. If not, click
Back and check that you have entered the information correctly. The following figure shows a database
connection that tested successfully.
Figure 5.5 Getting Started Tutorial - Test Database Connection
Toggle the Show Logs to view additional details about the tested connection, then click Next.
6. Optionally, you may configure a method for remote management if a Remote Host was specified.
Setting these options enables MySQL Workbench to determine the location of configuration files, and
the correct start and stop commands to use for the connection.
SSH login based management and Native Windows remote management types are available. The
Operating System and MySQL Installation Type are configured for the SSH login variant.
This step creates a local MySQL connection, so you can skip the Management and OS and SSH
Configuration options, which are used for configuring a remote MySQL connection.
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7. On Microsoft Windows, select the appropriate MySQL service for the MySQL connection, as shown in
the figure that follows.
Figure 5.6 Getting Started Tutorial - Windows Management
105
8. The wizard will now check its ability to access the start and stop commands and then check access to
the MySQL Server configuration file as the next figure shows.
Figure 5.7 Getting Started Tutorial - Test Settings
106
9. You now have a chance to review the configuration settings. The information displayed varies slightly
depending on platform, connection method, and installation type.
At the Review Settings prompt, choose I'd like to review the settings again to review
the settings as shown in the next figure. Choosing Continue closes the Configure Server Management
dialog.
Figure 5.8 Getting Started Tutorial - Review Settings
Check the Change Parameters if you want to check or edit information about the MySQL configuration
file. For this example, select the check box and click Next to continue.
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10. Review the MySQL configuration file information shown in the next figure. Click Check Path and
Check Name to perform the described checks, or optionally change the configuration file path.
Figure 5.9 Getting Started Tutorial - MySQL Configuration File
108
11. Optionally, enter your own commands for starting, stopping, and checking the MySQL connection. To
apply the default values, leave these optional values blank as the following figure shows.
Figure 5.10 Getting Started Tutorial - Specify Commands
Click Finish to close the Configure Server Management dialog, which returns to the original Setup New
Connection step.
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12. After reviewing the Setup New Connection information (see the figure that follows), click Test
Connection again to make sure it still functions and then click OK to create the new MySQL
connection.
Figure 5.11 Getting Started Tutorial - Setup New Connection
Your new MyFirstConnection MySQL connection is now listed on the home screen.
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Manage Server Connections
13. From the home screen, click the new MySQL connection to open the SQL editor for this connection.
The SQL editor is the default page. Click Server Status from the Navigator area of the sidebar to
display the current status of the connected MySQL server instance (see the figure that follows).
Figure 5.12 Getting Started Tutorial - Server Status
14. Test the other Navigator area options that relate to your new MySQL connection. Check its status,
MySQL logs, and measure its performance statistics from the Dashboard.
Notice the Administration and Schemas tabs in the Navigator area. The Schemas view displays
the schemas that are associated with your new MySQL connection. Alternatively, you can merge the
content of the tabs by either clicking merge ( ) or by enabling the Show Management Tools and
Schema Tree in a single tab SQL editor preference.
For additional information about MySQL connections, see Chapter 5, Connections in MySQL Workbench.
5.3 Manage Server Connections

The Manage Server Connections dialog is another way to manage MySQL connections. This dialog
is invoked by either clicking the manage connections icon ( ) on the home screen or by selecting
Database and then Manage Connections from the main menu. It can also be invoked from any of the
wizards requiring access to a live database.
After the MySQL connection manager is launched, you are presented with the Connection tab of the
Manage Server Connections dialog. The following figure shows the initial connection options for a standard
TCP/IP connection.
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Elements of the MySQL Connection Manager
Figure 5.13 Manage Server Connections: Connection Tab
Elements of the MySQL Connection Manager

• Connection Name: The name used to refer to this connection. This connection can then be selected
from a list in other wizards requiring a connection.
• Connection Method: Method used to connect to the RDBMS.
After you select a connection method, the fields available in the Parameters, SSL, and Advanced tabs
change accordingly. For more information about these options and parameters, see the specific section
for each item.
• New button: Opens a separate Manage Server Connections dialog to create a new connection. This
dialog provides two tabs in addition to the Connection tab: Remote Management and System Profile
• Delete, Duplicate, Move Up, and Move Down buttons: Operations used to manage the existing
connections.
• Test Connection button: Tests the selected MySQL connection and reports the connection status. It
also reports whether or not SSL is enabled.
For testing remote connections, you might also use ping to check the host name, or telnet to also
check the port. If these fail, then also check the firewall settings on each host, and also that MySQL
server is running on the remote host.
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Notes on MySQL Connection Manager
Notes on MySQL Connection Manager

Note
Simultaneous client connections: Opening a MySQL connection from the MySQL

Workbench home screen opens a new connection tab in MySQL Workbench for
that connection. Each of these tabs requires two MySQL connections to perform
basic tasks, such schema discovery and SQL execution. Additionally, performing
management related tasks, such as Server Status, requires two additional
MySQL connections. Essentially, this means that each MySQL connection
tab in MySQL Workbench requires four available connections to MySQL. For
additional information about "Too many connection" related errors, see Too many
connections.
This connection requirement doubles with each connection tab opened in MySQL
Workbench, even if the two connection tabs point to the same MySQL server. SQL
editor tabs share their connections, so having multiple SQL editor and SQL results
tabs does not affect the number of required connections.
5.3.1 Standard TCP/IP Connection Method

This connection method enables MySQL Workbench to connect to MySQL Server using TCP/IP.
Note
The skip_networking MySQL system variable affects the TCP/IP connection

method. If disabled, use named pipes or shared memory (on Windows) or Unix
socket files (on Unix).
Parameters Tab
The parameters for standard TCP/IP connections are:
• Hostname: The host name or IP address of the MySQL server.
Note
The host name "localhost" might resolve to "127.0.0.1" or "::1" on your host,
so note this when checking permissions. For example, if a web application's
user only has access to "127.0.0.1" on a host, and a defined connection
uses "localhost" that resolves to "::1", this connection may lack the proper
permissions to the aforementioned web application. Ping "localhost" on each host
to determine where it resolves to.
• Port: The TCP/IP port on which the MySQL server is listening (the default is 3306).
• Username: User name to use for the connection.
• Password: Optional password for the account used. If you enter no password here, you will be
prompted to enter the password when MySQL Workbench attempts to establish the connection. MySQL
Workbench can store the password in a vault (see Section 5.3.8, “The Password Storage Vault”).
• Default Schema: When the connection to the server is established, this is the schema that will be used
by default. It becomes the default schema for use in other parts of MySQL Workbench.
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Standard TCP/IP Connection Method
SSL Tab
SSL parameters are:
• Use SSL: This dropdown provides options related to enabling SSL encryption. Choose No to disable
SSL, If available if the client library supports it, or Require to require SSL support for the MySQL
connection to succeed. This option defaults to If available.
• SSL Key File: Path to the Key file for SSL.
• SSL CERT File: Path the Certificate file for SSL.
• SSL CA File: Path to the Certification Authority file for SSL.
• SSL Cipher: Optional list of permissible ciphers to use for SSL encryption.
• SSL Wizard button: Generate SSL certificates for both the MySQL server and MySQL client. Requires
access to OpenSSL binaries in the system's PATH. For additional information, see Section 5.3.4, “SSL
Wizard (Certificates)”.
• Files button: Opens a file browser that points to the generated SSL files by the SSL Wizard. For
additional information, see Section 5.3.4, “SSL Wizard (Certificates)”
Advanced Tab
The Advanced tab includes these check boxes:
• Use compression protocol: If checked, the communication between the application and the MySQL
server will be compressed, which may increase transfer rates. This corresponds to starting a MySQL
command-line client with the --compress option. This option is unchecked by default.
• Use ANSI quotes to quote identifiers: Treat “"” as an identifier quote character (like the “`” quote
character) and not as a string quote character. You can still use “`” to quote identifiers with this mode
enabled. With this option enabled, you cannot use double quotation marks to quote literal strings,
because it is interpreted as an identifier. Note: If this option is checked, it overrides the server setting.
This option is unchecked by default.
• Enable Cleartext Authentication Plugin: Send the user password as text that is not encrypted.
Required for some authentication methods. This option is unchecked by default.
• Use the old authentication protocol: This option disables the Connector/C++ secure_auth option.
This option is unchecked by default. Doing so means you can connect to MySQL Server with MySQL
users that utilize the old mysql_old_password authentication plugin, which is not recommended.
mysql_old_password support was removed in MySQL Server 5.7.
Note
This option was removed in Workbench 6.3.6, and did not function in Workbench
6.3.5. For information about upgrading passwords from the old authentication
protocol, see Section 5.3.9, “Updating Old Authentication Protocol Passwords”.
Also, MySQL Server 5.7 does not support the old authentication protocol,
because secure_auth cannot be disabled. Using the old mysql_old_password
has not been recommended since MySQL 4.1.
It also includes these options:
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Local Socket/Pipe Connection Method
Timeout: Maximum time to wait before the connection is aborted. The connection times out in 60 seconds
by default.
SQL_MODE: Override the default SQL_MODE used by the server.
Others: Other options for Connector/C++ as option=value pairs, one per line.
5.3.2 Local Socket/Pipe Connection Method

This connection method enables MySQL Workbench to connect to MySQL Server using a socket file (on
Unix) or a named pipe (on Windows).
Parameters Tab
In addition to a number of parameters that are in common with Standard TCP/IP connections, this
connection method includes a unique field to configure the socket path or pipe name. As the following
figure shows, you can supply the path to the socket file or pipe name within this dialog. If the field is left
blank, the default socket or pipe name is used. On Unix, the default socket name is /tmp/mysql.sock.
On Microsoft Windows, the default pipe name is MySQL.
Figure 5.14 Manage Server Connections - Local Socket/Pipe Parameters
SSL Tab
The SSL options for this connection method are the same as the options described in Section 5.3.1,
“Standard TCP/IP Connection Method”.
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Standard TCP/IP over SSH Connection Method
Advanced Tab
The advanced options for this connection method are the same as the options described in Section 5.3.1,
“Standard TCP/IP Connection Method”, except the Use compression protocol and Timeout options do
not apply.
5.3.3 Standard TCP/IP over SSH Connection Method

This connection method enables MySQL Workbench to connect to MySQL Server using TCP/IP over an
SSH connection.
Parameters Tab
In addition to a number of parameters that are in common with Standard TCP/IP connections, this
connection method features a number of specialized parameters. These options are:
• SSH Hostname: The name of the SSH server. An optional port number can also be provided. For
example, localhost:22.
• SSH Username: The name of the SSH user to use to make a connection.
• SSH Password: The SSH password. It is recommended that an SSH key file is also used.
• SSH Key File: A path to the SSH key file.
Note
MySQL Workbench does not accept default PuTTY keys directly. However, you
can convert an existing PuTTY Private Key (ppk) file to OpenSSH format using
the PuTTY Key Generator (PuTTYGen) utility.
If a remote host is missing from the system's list of known hosts, a prompt requires you to confirm
the host's fingerprint before storing it. If your stored host fingerprint is different than the host's current
fingerprint, then an error is generated and you will be required to handle the discrepancy from outside of
MySQL Workbench before creating the connection.
On Linux and macOS, SSH host fingerprints are stored in ~/.ssh/known_hosts. On Microsoft
Windows, they are stored in a file created by MySQL Workbench under the user's folder, such as C:
\Users\username\.ssh\known_hosts. The path to the SSH known hosts file is configurable (see
Section 3.2.6, “SSH Preferences”).
The following figure shows the SSH connection settings.
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SSL Wizard (Certificates)
Figure 5.15 Manage Server Connections - Standard TCP/IP over SSH Parameters
SSL Tab
The SSL options for this connection method are the same as the options described in Section 5.3.1,
“Standard TCP/IP Connection Method”.
Advanced Tab
The advanced options for this connection method are the same as the options described in Section 5.3.1,
“Standard TCP/IP Connection Method”, except the Timeout option does not apply.
5.3.4 SSL Wizard (Certificates)

This wizard helps create SSL certificates for both MySQL clients and MySQL servers. Connections in
MySQL Workbench are updated with the certificates by the wizard. This wizard requires OpenSSL to
create the certificates. An example MySQL configuration file (my.cnf / my.ini) is also generated that
utilizes the generated certificates.
Note
The OpenSSL binary should be in the system's PATH.
Start the SSL wizard from the SSL tab of a MySQL server connection. Locate this tab in the MySQL
connection editor. Click SSL Wizard to execute the wizard, as the following figure shows.
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Figure 5.16 SSL Wizard: Start
Read the informative text on the welcome screen (displayed in the following figure), and then click Next.
Figure 5.17 SSL Wizard: Welcome
Check the options that apply. The following figure shows an example of the available options.
• Use default parameters: Check this to skip entering the optional attributes, such as Country, State,
Organization, and so on. By default, these fields are empty.
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• Generate new certificates and self-signed keys: Check this to generate new files, otherwise the
existing files are used. You might disable this if you already generated SSL certificates but forgot where
the files are located, or how to configure them.
• Update the connection: Updates the defined MySQL connection (in Workbench) with the generated
certificate information.
Figure 5.18 SSL Wizard: Options
The results page describes the generated files, and provides requirements that you must perform to
complete the operation. For example, you must manually edit your MySQL configuration file (my.ini or
my.cnf) and define the SSL options.
The following figure shows an example Results screen. Consider leaving this screen open, and close it
after you copied the files and altered your MySQL configuration file to enable SSL connections. The wizard
does not perform these actions for you.
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Figure 5.19 SSL Wizard: Results
Here an example process of using the generated SSL files to set up an SSL connection. Adjust your paths
as they will be different.
1. Create a directory to store the certificate files. In our simple example, we have MySQL Workbench
installed on the same host as the MySQL Server, and we created "C:\certs" on this system.
2. Copy and paste the results to a new (temporary) file, but change <directory> to the path (C:\certs)
we created. For example:
[client]
ssl-ca=C:\certs\ca-cert.pem
ssl-cert=C:\certs\client-cert.pem
ssl-key=C:\certs\client-key.pem
[mysqld]
ssl-cert=C:\certs\\server-cert.pem
ssl-key=C:\certs\\server-key.pem
Warning
MySQL interprets "\s" as a space, so we added an extra backslash to escape it.

That is why you see "\\server-key.pem" in the above example, because MySQL
Server would interpret "\server-key.pem" as " erver-key.pem".
3. Open the MySQL Server configuration file. In this example, its location is "C:\ProgramData\MySQL
\MySQL Server 5.7\my.ini".
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Remote Management
Note
The location of your configuration file depends on how MySQL Server was
installed. The connection editor defines and displays its location, as does the
Options File page in MySQL Workbench.
4. Add the client certificate information under the [client] section:
[client]
ssl-cert=C:\certs\client-cert.pem
ssl-key=C:\certs\client-key.pem
Add the server certificate information under the [mysqld] section:
[mysqld]
ssl-cert=C:\certs\\server-cert.pem
ssl-key=C:\certs\\server-key.pem
5. Update the paths to the SSL client certificates in your MySQL connection, under the SSL tab. There are
three paths to update.
6. Restart the MySQL Server. In the log, you should see something like "Warning CA certificate C:
\certs\ca-cert.pem is self signed."
7. In the MySQL connection editor, clicking Test Connection should confirm your SSL connection.
Additionally, consider setting Use SSL to "Required". Or, if you are experiencing problems, set it to "If
available" while debugging the problem.
5.3.5 Remote Management

The Remote Management tab is available when connecting to MySQL remotely, as the following figure
shows. To access this tab, select a remote connection from the MySQL Connections pane or click New to
create a new connection.
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System Profile
Figure 5.20 Manage Server Connections: Remote Management Tab
5.3.6 System Profile

The System Profile tab enables you to specify host-specific information. This is achieved primarily through
selecting a System Type, along with its corresponding Installation Type. These profile settings contain
standard information that is used in managing the host's MySQL instance.
Here are some of the available installation types:
• FreeBSD, MySQL package or Custom
• Linux, including distributions such as Fedora, Oracle, RHEL, SLES, Ubuntu, Generic, and Custom
• macOS, MySQL package or Custom
• OpenSolaris, MySQL package or Custom
• Windows, with different installation methods, MySQL versions, and build architectures
Choose the appropriate System Type and Installation Type to set default parameters that includes
commands used to start and stop MySQL, commands to check the server status, the location of the
my.ini or my.cnf configuration file, and on Windows, the Windows Service Name. As the following figure
shows, these default values are customizable.
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Configure Server Management Wizard
Figure 5.21 Manage Server Connections: System Profile Tab
5.3.7 Configure Server Management Wizard

Clicking the [+] icon from the home screen launches the Setup New Connection wizard. The wizard
provides a MySQL connection form to create a new MySQL connection, and includes a Configure Server
Management option as a step-by-step approach to creating a new MySQL server connection.
This option can also be executed later (on remote connections) from the home screen by clicking the top
right corner of a MySQL remote connection, as the following figure shows.
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Figure 5.22 Configure Remote Management
Executing this wizard is required to perform tasks requiring shell access to the host. For example, starting/
stopping the MySQL instance and editing the configuration file.
For a tutorial that demonstrates the following general steps, see Section 5.2, “Creating A New MySQL
Connection (Tutorial)”.
The steps presented in the wizard are:
1. Test DB Connection
On this page, MySQL Workbench tests your database connection and displays the results. If an error
occurs, click Show Logs to view the related logs.
2. Management and OS
Used to specify a remote management type and target operating system, which is available when the
Host Machine is defined as a remote host.
The SSH login based management option includes configuration entries for the Operating System and
MySQL Installation Type.
3. SSH Configuration
If you specified a Remote Host on the Specify Host Machine page, you will be presented with the Host
SSH Connection page, that enables you to use SSH for the connection to the server instance. This
facility enables you to create a secure connection to remotely administer and configure the server
instance. You must enter the host name and user name of the account that will be used to log in to
the server for administration and configuration activities. If you do not enter the optional SSH Key for
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use with the server, then you will be prompted for the password when the connection is established by
MySQL Workbench.
Note
This connection is to enable remote administration and configuration of the

MySQL Server itself. It is not the same as the connection used to connect to a
server for general database manipulation.
Note
You must use an SSH connection type when managing a remote server if you
wish to start or stop the server or edit its configuration file. Other administrative
functions do not require an SSH connection.
4. Windows Management
If a Windows server is used, then setting the Windows configuration parameters is mandatory.
Windows management requires a user account with the required privileges to query the system status,
and to control services. And read/write access to the configuration file is needed to allow editing of the
file.
5. Test Settings
The wizard now attempts a connection to your server and reports the results. If an error occurs, click
Show Logs to view the related logs.
MySQL Workbench must know where the MySQL Server configuration file is located to be able
to display configuration information. The wizard is able to determine the most likely location of the
configuration file, based on the selection made on the Operating System page of the wizard. However,
it is possible to test that this information is correct by clicking the Check path and Check section
buttons. The wizard then reports whether the configuration file and server configuration section can
in fact be accessed. It is also possible to manually enter the location of the configuration file, and the
section pertaining to MySQL Server data; these manually entered values should be tested using the
buttons provided. Click the Next button to continue.
6. Review Settings
The modified settings may be reviewed, which also includes the default values. Select the Change
Parameters check box if the MySQL Config File section will be edited, and then click Next to continue.
7. MySQL Config File
Allows configuration of the MySQL server version. It also allows the editing and validation of the
configuration file path, and validation of the server instance section. Click Next to continue.
8. Specify Commands
Optionally set the commands required to start, stop, and check the status of the running MySQL server
instance. Commands can be customized, if required, but the defaults are suitable in most cases. The
defaults depend on the selected options on the Operating System page of the wizard. Click Next to
continue.
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The Password Storage Vault
9. Complete Setup
Name the MySQL server instance on the final step. This name is used throughout MySQL Workbench
as a reference to this MySQL connection. After setting a suitable name, click Finish to save the
instance.
5.3.8 The Password Storage Vault

The vault provides a convenient secure storage for passwords used to access MySQL servers. By using
the vault, you need not enter credentials every time MySQL Workbench attempts to connect to a server.
Note
The host name is used for storing password information. For example, a local
connection might use "localhost", "127.0.0.1", or "::1", but these are stored
separately in the password storage vault, even if they all resolve to the same place.
The vault is implemented differently on each platform:
• Windows: The vault is an encrypted file in the MySQL Workbench data directory. This is where
connections.xml and related files are located. The file is encrypted using a Windows API which
performs the encryption based on the current user, so only the current user can decrypt it. As a result it
is not possible to decrypt the file on any other computer. It is possible to delete the file, in which case all
stored passwords are lost, but MySQL Workbench will otherwise perform as expected. You then must
re-enter passwords as required.
• macOS: The vault is implemented using the Secure Keychain. The keychain content is also viewable
from the native Keychain Access.app utility.
• Linux: The vault works by storing passwords using the libsecret library, which communicates with
Secret Service. For systems with the GNOME desktop environment, such as Ubuntu, the Secret Service
is gnome-keyring-daemon. Systems with the KDE desktop environment, for example Kubuntu, use
their own ksecretservice implementation.
5.3.9 Updating Old Authentication Protocol Passwords

MySQL 4.1 extended password hashes from 16 to 41 bytes. However, upgrading MySQL does not
automatically update the old password passwords, so existing passwords continue to be stored in the
deprecated format. This is because MySQL does not store passwords as plain text, so regenerating
password hashes requires user intervention.
The associated secure_auth option was enabled by default as of MySQL 5.6. It is always enabled as
of MySQL 5.7, meaning it can not be disabled. A future MySQL release will remove this option. With this
option enabled, a user with a password defined in the old format will not be able to login to MySQL.
With all that said, the deprecated password format does not function with MySQL 5.7. All passwords
using the old format must be updated. This section documents how to upgrade these passwords using
MySQL Workbench. For information about migrating away from the old password format using the MySQL
command line instead of Workbench, see Migrating Away from Pre-4.1 Password Hashing and the
mysql_old_password Plugin.
Note
The method that MySQL stores a password is defined by an authentication plugin.

The old method uses the mysql_old_password authentication plugin, and
the current default method uses mysql_native_password. As of MySQL
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Updating Old Authentication Protocol Passwords
5.6, a sha256_password option is also available although it requires an SSL

or encrypted connection. When Workbench upgrades passwords, it upgrades
mysql_old_password to mysql_native_password. For additional information
about authentication plugins, see Pluggable Authentication.
Options Depend on your secure_auth Option

Upgrading a password does have constraints. Here are two scenarios:
• If the secure_auth MySQL Server option is disabled, then you can log in using the user with the old
password format and update the user's own MySQL password. However, this is not an option as of
MySQL Workbench 6.3.5 because compatibility with the old password format was removed. For this
reason, a user's ability to upgrade their own password format must be done using the MySQL command
line as described in Migrating Away from Pre-4.1 Password Hashing and the mysql_old_password
Plugin.
Note
If using the MySQL command line is not an option, then you could use
an older version of MySQL Workbench (version 6.3.4 and earlier), which
allows you to enable a Use the old authentication protocol option under the
Advanced connections tab. Older versions of Workbench are available at https://
downloads.mysql.com/archives/workbench/.
As stated earlier, secure_auth is enabled by default as of MySQL 5.6, and always enabled as of
MySQL 5.7.
• If secure_auth is enabled, you can not log in if your user's password is stored in the old format.
Attempts will fail and emit an error similar to "ERROR 2049 (HY000): Connection using old (pre-4.1.1)
authentication protocol refused (client option 'secure_auth' enabled)". To upgrade the password, you
can either disable secure_auth (not recommended) then update as described above, or log in as a
different and privileged user, such as root, to change the password for a different user.
Using Workbench to Upgrade Your Password

Keeping the above in mind, there are two methods to update passwords using Workbench.
Open the Users and Privileges tab from Workbench's Management navigator. Select the user you want to
update from the User Accounts section. If using the old password format, you will see text beginning with
"This account is using the pre-mysql-4.1.1 password hashing type." in the lower right corner of the screen,
and also a large Upgrade button on the right. From here, you can:
• Option for all MySQL versions:
Manually enter a new password, or the current password, and click Upgrade. This upgrades the
password to the newer password format, and the MySQL user can now log in using the new password
that you defined.
• Option for MySQL 5.6 and later:
Rather than editing the password field, leave it alone and immediately click Upgrade. From here,
you can generate a random password and tag it as expired by clicking Reset To Expired. Use this
temporary random password to login the user, and MySQL will prompt for a new password when the
user first logs in.
The following figures demonstrate the sequence of steps used in both methods:
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Updating Old Authentication Protocol Passwords
Figure 5.23 Upgrade Old Password: Setting a New Password
Figure 5.24 Upgrade Old Password: Reset to Random Expired Password
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Client Connections
When resetting to a random password, you must save the password and give it to the user. You will find
the random password in the new popup window that is similar to the following figure.
Figure 5.25 Upgrade Old Password: Random Password Popup
After completing the upgrade, notice the new Authentication Type for the connection. In the example
shown in the next figure, the value changed from Standard (old) to Standard. In other words, the
authentication type changed from mysql_old_password to mysql_native_password.
Figure 5.26 Upgraded Password: Standard (old) to Standard
5.4 Client Connections

The client connection browser lists the active and sleeping MySQL client connections, and adds the ability
to kill statements and connections, and view additional connection details and attributes. The following
figure shows an example of client connection information for a local host.
Note
The connection details viewer requires MySQL 5.6 or higher. Only basic connection
information is available for previous versions of MySQL, such as the connection
hosts, database, and state.
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Figure 5.27 Client Connection Overview

The Client Connections management window includes a Show Details for connections to MySQL 5.6
and higher, as the following figure shows. These details are separated into three tabs:
• Details: connection details such as Process ID, Type, User, Host, Instrumented, and additional
information.
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Figure 5.28 Client Connections Details
• Locks: MySQL uses metadata locking to manage access to objects such as tables and triggers.
Sometimes a query might be blocked while being manipulated by another connection from another user.
The Locks feature (shown in the following figure) utilizes these MySQL metadata locks (MDL) to show
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the locked connections that are blocked or being waiting on, and shows information about the locks,
what they are waiting for, and what they hold.
Figure 5.29 Metadata Locks Browser
Note
The metadata lock information is provided in the performance schema as of

MySQL server 5.7.3.
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• Attributes: these are connection attributes such as OS, Client Name, Client Version, and Platform. The
following figure shows a set of attributes and values.
Figure 5.30 Client Connection Attributes
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Chapter 6 Administrative Tasks
Table of Contents
6.1 Server Administration ................................................................................................................ 135
6.1.1 Server Logs ................................................................................................................... 137
6.1.2 Service Control .............................................................................................................. 138
6.1.3 Configuration (Options File) ............................................................................................ 139
6.2 Users and Privileges ................................................................................................................. 140
6.3 Server Status ........................................................................................................................... 143
6.4 Status and System Variables .................................................................................................... 144
6.5 Data Export and Import ............................................................................................................. 147
6.5.1 Table Data Export and Import Wizard ............................................................................. 148
6.5.2 SQL Data Export and Import Wizard ............................................................................... 156
6.5.3 Result Data Export and Import ....................................................................................... 160
6.6 MySQL Audit Inspector Interface ............................................................................................... 161
6.7 MySQL Enterprise Backup Interface .......................................................................................... 163
6.7.1 General Requirements ................................................................................................... 164
6.7.2 Online Backup ............................................................................................................... 166
6.7.3 Backup Recovery ........................................................................................................... 169
6.8 MySQL Enterprise Firewall Interface .......................................................................................... 173
6.9 wbcopytables Utility .................................................................................................................. 175
MySQL Workbench provides a visual interface to administer your MySQL environment. The available
visual tools help configure your MySQL servers, administer users, perform backup and recovery, inspect
audit data, and view database health.
6.1 Server Administration

Manage your MySQL instances with a comprehensive view of your MySQL server connections. The
visual tree-based navigation provides detailed information about server and status variables, including the
number of threads, bytes sent and received by clients, buffer allocations size, and more.
MySQL Connection Navigator

The Navigator area of the sidebar panel has an Administration secondary tab (previously named
Management) with functionality to monitor and configure your selected MySQL connection. On some
hosts, the Navigator and Information labels are not shown. The following figure shows the main elements
that apply to server administration.
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Description of the Server Administration Elements
Figure 6.1 Navigator Administration Tab
Description of the Server Administration Elements

1. Connection tab. Each connection made to the MySQL server is represented by a separate connection
tab. A server can be active or inactive when the connection tab for it is opened. For assistance in
creating and managing MySQL connections, see Chapter 5, Connections in MySQL Workbench.
2. Server menu. The Server menu on the main menu bar is one way to open each category of
administration secondary tab. The menu includes the same set of items listed in the Administration
tab within the Navigator area, plus two additional items: Management Access Settings and Reset
Saved Passwords for Connection.
To open the Administration - Users and Privileges secondary tab (see the previous figure), click
Server and then Users and Privileges.
3. Administration tab. You can display only one administration tab at a time; subsequent administration
tabs replace the active tab. To close an open tab, click the x on the tab.
4. Operation tabs. Some administration secondary tabs also include subtabs that separate the available
operations within that category. For example, the Administration - Users and Privileges secondary
tab (see the previous figure) has four subtabs: Login, Account Limits, Administrative Roles, and
Schema Privileges.
5. Sidebar panel. The sidebar panel includes the Navigator and Information areas. With the
Administration tab selected, click any item in the Navigator area to open the related administration
tab in the workspace. You can hide or show the panel using the shortcut action in the main toolbar.
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Server Logs
The previous figure shows only the sidebar panel. The secondary sidebar and output area panels are
hidden in this example.
The Administration secondary tab is separated into the MANAGEMENT, INSTANCE, and
PERFORMANCE sections, and the Commercial edition of MySQL Workbench also includes the
MYSQL ENTERPRISE section.
The Navigator area also has a Schemas secondary tab for managing databases using your MySQL
Connection. For information about the Schemas tab, see Section 8.2.1, “Object Browser and Editor
Navigator”.
6. Operation buttons. All buttons within the administration tabs are located in same area of the workspace.
However, the set of operation buttons changes depending on the selected tab.
6.1.1 Server Logs

The Administration - Server Logs tab displays log information for the MySQL server represented by each
connection tab. For each connection, the Administration - Server Logs tab includes additional tabs for
the general error logs and the slow logs (if available).
With a valid connection established, and the connection tab for it open, you can access log information
from either the Navigator area or by clicking Server and then Server Logs from the menu.
Error Log File

The following figure shows an example of entries within the Error Log File tab. For more information, see
The Error Log.
Figure 6.2 Navigator Administration: Instance: Server Logs: Error Log
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Service Control
Slow Log File
The next figure shows an example of entries within the Slow Log File tab. For more information, see The
Slow Query Log
Figure 6.3 Navigator Management: Instance: Server Logs: Slow Log
6.1.2 Service Control

The Administration - Startup / Shutdown tab enables you to perform the following service-control
actions:
• View the Startup Message Log.
• Start up and shut down the MySQL instance.
• View the current status of the MySQL instance.
With a valid connection established, and the connection tab for it open, you can access the control actions
from either the Navigator panel or by clicking Server and then Startup/Shutdown from the menu. The
following figure shows an example of the Administration - Startup / Shutdown tab with the database
server instance running and the Stop Server and Bring Offline buttons displayed.
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Configuration (Options File)
Figure 6.4 Navigator Administration: Instance: Startup / Shutdown
6.1.3 Configuration (Options File)

The Options File editor is used to view and edit the MySQL configuration file (my.ini on Windows or
my.cnf on Linux and macOS) by selecting check boxes and other GUI controls, and then making edits.
MySQL Workbench divides the options file into its own groupings as a set of tabs (such as General,
Logging, InnoDB, and so on). Make an edit and click Apply to commit the changes.
You can open the Administration - Options File secondary tab from either the Navigator area of the
sidebar panel or by clicking Server and then Options File from the menu.
The options file editor includes the following components:
• Option file groupings, as divided into convenient tabs by MySQL Workbench.
• A Locate option search field to search your MySQL options configuration file.
• Configuration File path, so you know the configuration file you are editing.
• An options file group selector, to select the option [group] to edit. Because the same option can be
defined under multiple groupings, it is important to choose the correct group when making edits.
[mysqld] (the MySQL server) is the default and most common group. For additional information about
groups, see Using Option Files.
The following figure shows an instance of the Options File with the General tab selected.
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Users and Privileges
Figure 6.5 Navigator Administration: Instance: Options File: General
6.2 Users and Privileges

The Administration - Users and Privileges tab provides a list of all users and privileges that relate to an
active MySQL server instance. From this tab, you can add and manage user accounts, adjust privileges,
and expire passwords.
To open the Administration - Users and Privileges tab:
1. Establish a connection to an active MySQL server instance.
2. Within the connection tab, do one of the following:
• Click Users and Privileges from the Management list within the Navigator area.
• Click Server and then Users and Privileges from the menu.
The Administration - Users and Privileges tab has several task areas, which are described in the
following sections:
• User Accounts
• Login Tab
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User Accounts
• Account Limits Tab
• Administrative Roles Tab
• Schema Privileges Tab
User Accounts
User Accounts consists of a vertical box that lists each user account associated with the active MySQL
connection. The list contains each user name and the host name where the account resides. Use the Add
Account, Delete, and Refresh buttons to manage the list of user accounts. Selecting an account from the
list focuses the account details, which appear in set of tabs, onto the selected user account.
The figure that follows shows the layout of the Administration - Users and Privileges tab with the Login
detail tab open to show an example of general account information.
Figure 6.6 Navigator Administration: User And Privileges with Login Tab Open
For a description of the Login, Account Limits, Administrative Roles, and Schema Privileges tabs, see
the related sections.
Login Tab
The Login tab provides the following information related to the selected user account:
• Login Name: You may create multiple accounts with the same name to connect from different hosts.
• Authentication Type: For standard password or host-based authentication, select Standard. The
caching_sha2_password and SHA256_Password authentication types provide more secure
password encryption than the Standard authentication type.
Starting with MySQL 8.0.4, the caching_sha2_password plugin is the default authentication plugin
for the server. An account that authenticates with caching_sha2_password must use either a secure
connection or an unencrypted connection that supports password exchange using an RSA key pair.
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Account Limits Tab
• Limit to Hosts Matching: The % and _ characters may be used as wildcards. The percent sign (%)
matches zero or more characters and the underscore (_) matches a single character.
• Password and Confirm Password: To reset a password, type in the new password and then confirm
it. Consider using a password of eight or more characters with mixed-case letters, numbers, and
punctuation marks.
Use Expire Password to require a change of password to use the account.
Account Limits Tab

The Account Limits tab defines the following limits on the selected user account:
• Max. Queries: The number of queries the account can execute within one hour.
• Max. Updates: The number of updates the account can execute within one hour.
• Max. Connections: The number of times the account can connect to the server within an hour.
• Concurrent Connections: The number of simultaneous connections to the server the account can
have.
Administrative Roles Tab

Roles are a quick way of granting a set of privileges to a user, based on the work the user must carry out
on the server. It is also possible to assign multiple roles to a user account or to assign privileges directly to
an account without first assigning roles.
After you select a role for a user account, you will see the accumulated privileges in the Global Privileges
panel. For example, if you select the role BackupAdmin, the privileges granted include EVENT, LOCK
TABLES, SELECT, SHOW DATABASES. For a complete list of privileges, see Privileges Provided by MySQL
The Administrative Roles tab includes the following roles:
• DBA: Grants the rights to perform all tasks.
• MaintenanceAdmin: Grants rights to maintain the server.
• ProcessAdmin: Grants rights to assess, monitor, and kill user processes.
• UserAdmin: Grants rights to create user logins and reset passwords.
• SecurityAdmin: Grants rights to manage logins and grant and revoke server privileges.
• MonitorAdmin: Grants the minimum rights to monitor the server.
• DBManager: Grants full rights on all databases.
• DBDesigner: Grants rights to create and reverse-engineer any database schema.
• ReplicationAdmin: Grants rights needed to set up and manage replication.
• BackupAdmin: Grants minimum rights required to back up any database.
• Custom: Lists other (custom) privileges that are assigned to the user account. This role is not available
for all default accounts, such as root. If you select a user account and then select one or more
privileges directly that are outside of any selected roles, the Custom role is added (and selected) to the
list of roles.
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Schema Privileges Tab
To remove all of the rights assigned to the selected user account, click Revoke All Privileges.
Schema Privileges Tab

The Schema Privileges tab refines the way you assign access rights to one or more schemas by user
account. To assign privileges to the selected account by schema, do the following:
1. Add a schema entry (or rule) that specifies which schema or schemas apply the selected user account.
Click Add Entry to open the New Schema Privilege Definition dialog. The dialog provides the following
independent options to select:
• All Schema (%) - This rule applies to any schema name.
• Schemas matching pattern: pattern - Apply this rule to schemas that match the given name or
pattern. You may use _ and % as wildcards in the pattern; however, to use the literal value you must
escape each wildcard character with a backslash (\) .
• Selected schema: schema name - Apply the rule to the specific schema name selected from the
list.
Use Delete Entry to remove an entry and the privileges associated with it from the list. When you click
Revoke All Privileges, you are prompted remove all privileges assigned to the selected user account.
2. With an entry selected, mark the individual access rights that apply only to the schema or schemas
defined in the entry. The access rights are categorized as Object Rights, DDL Rights, and Other Rights.
Each right that you select appears in the Privileges column of the schema entry.
6.3 Server Status

Get an immediate view into the basic health indicators and counters for your MySQL environment. As the
next figure shows, this includes viewing the server's running state (stopped/running), available features,
primary server directories, replication state, and security settings for authentication and SSL. Reports also
include information and graphs to track memory usage, connections, hit rates, and more.
You can access this window from either the Navigator area, or by selecting Server and then Server Status
from the menu.
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Status and System Variables
Figure 6.7 Navigator Administration: Server Status
6.4 Status and System Variables

The Administration - Status and System Variables secondary tab lists the full set of server variables for
the active MySQL connection. You may also copy all or selected variables to your clipboard.
You can open this secondary tab from either the Navigator area (see MANAGEMENT) or by clicking
Server and then Status and System Variables from the menu. The following figure shows the Status
Variables subtab selected with all of the status variable listed by name. Each variable has a value, if
applicable, and a description.
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Status and System Variables
Figure 6.8 Navigator Administration: Status Variables
The next figure shows the System Variables subtab selected with all of the global system variables for the
active server listed by name. You can refine the list of status and system variables by typing the variable
name into to the text box provided or by selecting a category, such as InnoDB/General.
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Persist System Variables
Figure 6.9 Navigator Administration: System Variables
Persist System Variables

Beginning with MySQL Workbench 8.0.11, you can set one or more global system variables to persist
across server restarts. To persist a variable, select the Persist check box next to the name (see the
previous figure). For system variables that include a value, the value is displayed in the Persisted Value
column of the list after you select the check box. If a variable is not eligible to be persisted, an informational
dialog box appears when you select the check box.
To reset a persistent global system variable, deselect the individual check box and then confirm the reset
action for the individual variable in the dialog box that opens. To reset all the persistent variables at once,
click Reset persist values and then confirm the reset action for all of the persistent variables.
Custom Variable Grouping

The status and system variables are each categorized by groups (such as InnoDB or Logging), and you
may also create your own custom groups. Right-click a variable, choose the custom group (or create a new
one), and then add the variable to the aforementioned group. Your custom groups are listed along with the
pre-existing groups.
The following figure shows an example of a custom group titled My Variables, which is being added to
the Created_tmp_variables variable.
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Data Export and Import
Figure 6.10 Navigator Management: Adding A Variable To A Custom Group
6.5 Data Export and Import

There are three ways to export and import data in MySQL Workbench, each serving a different purpose.
Table 6.1 Methods to Export or Import data in MySQL Workbench
GUI Location Data Set Export Types Import Types Additional Details
Object Browser context Tables JSON, CSV JSON, CSV Simple table operations,
menu includes moderate control over
the output type (this method
was added in version 6.3.0).
Result Grid menu under Result CSV, HTML, CSV Simple data operations,
the SQL editor set (after JSON, SQL, includes little control.
performing an XML, Excel
SQL query) XML, TXT
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GUI Location Data Set Export Types Import Types Additional Details
Management Navigator Databases SQL SQL Detailed database and table
and/or Tables operations, standard backup/
restore behavior using the
mysqldump command and
meta data, includes control
over how data is handled, and
includes meta data.
Management Navigator Databases SQL SQL Detailed database and table
and/or Tables operations, includes control
over how data is handled, can
be scheduled and incremental,
includes meta data, uses
MySQL Enterprise Backup
(commercial).
6.5.1 Table Data Export and Import Wizard

This wizard supports import and export operations using CSV and JSON files, and includes several
configuration options (separators, column selection, encoding selection, and more). The wizard can be
performed against local or remotely connected MySQL servers, and the import action includes table,
column, and type mapping.
Note
This wizard only exports/imports tables using the JSON or CSV format. For
an overview of the data export and import options in MySQL Workbench, see
Section 6.5, “Data Export and Import”.
The wizard is accessible from the object browser's context menu by right-clicking on a table and choose
either Table Data Export Wizard or Table Data Import Wizard, as the next figure shows.
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Figure 6.11 Table Data Wizards: Open
Table Data Export Wizard
Export table data to either a JSON or CSV file. The following figures show an example of an export
sequence of the sakila.actor table to a CSV file.
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Figure 6.12 Table Data Export: Source
150
Figure 6.13 Table Data Export: CSV Configuration
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Figure 6.14 Table Data Export: Results
Table Data Import Wizard
You can import table data from either a JSON or CSV file. The following figures show an example of an
import sequence of the sakila.actor table from a CSV file.
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Figure 6.15 Table Data Import: CSV Source
153
Figure 6.16 Table Data Import: Destination Table
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Figure 6.17 Table Data Import: CSV Configuration
Note
The Encoding field should correspond with your CSV file.
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SQL Data Export and Import Wizard
Figure 6.18 Table Data Import: Results
6.5.2 SQL Data Export and Import Wizard

Use this wizard to either export or import SQL generated from MySQL Workbench or with the mysqldump
command.
Access these wizards from either the Navigator area of the sidebar, or by selecting Server from the main
menu, and then either Data Import or Data Export.
Note
This wizard only exports/imports the MySQL SQL format. For an overview of the
data export and import options in MySQL Workbench, see Section 6.5, “Data Export
and Import”.
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Data Export
This tab allows you to export your MySQL data. Select each schema you want to export, optionally choose
specific schema objects/tables from each schema, and generate the export. Configuration options include
exporting to a project folder or self-contained SQL file, optionally dump stored routines and events, or skip
table data.
Note
Alternatively, use Export a Result Set to export a specific result set in the SQL
editor to another format such as CSV, JSON, HTML, and XML.
Select the schema objects to export and then configure the related options. The figure that follows shows
the sakila database ready for export.
Note
Click Refresh to load the current objects.
Figure 6.19 Navigator Administration: Data Export: Object Selection
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Optionally open the Advanced Options tab that allows you to refine the export operation. The next figure
shows an example that adds table locks, uses replace instead of insert statements, quotes identifiers with
backtick characters, and so on.
Figure 6.20 Navigator Administration: Data Export: Advanced Options
Click Start Export to begin the export process. As the next figure shows, status information indicates when
the export is finished.
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Figure 6.21 Navigator Administration: Data Export: Export Progress
This functionality uses the mysqldump command.
Data Import/Restore
Restore exported data from the Data Export operation, or from other exported data from the mysqldump
command.
Choose the project folder or self-contained SQL file, choose the schema that the data will be imported to,
or choose New to define a new schema. The following figure shows an example of an import from a dump
project folder.
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Result Data Export and Import
Figure 6.22 Navigator Administration: Data Import: Import From Disk
Note
You may only select specific data objects (tables) to import if the data export
operation used project folders instead of a self-contained SQL file.
Click Start Import to begin the import process. Use the Import Progress tab to monitor the progress.
Status information indicates when the import is finished and displays the log.
6.5.3 Result Data Export and Import

Export or Import data directly from or into the result set. The export and import operations shown in this
section apply to result data only. For an overview of the various data export and import options in MySQL
Workbench, see Section 6.5, “Data Export and Import”.
Export a Result Set
A result set in the visual SQL editor can be exported to common file formats including CSV, JSON, HTML,
and XML. The following figure shows the selection of JSON as the export type from within the Export
Resultset window. By default, MySQL Workbench exports your result set using Unix-style line endings
(LF), rather than Windows-style (CR/LF) or macOS-style (CR) line endings.
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MySQL Audit Inspector Interface
Figure 6.23 Exporting a Result Set
Import into a Result Set

Records from a CSV file can be imported into the result set of the visual SQL editor. The import icon
opens the Table Data Import dialog from which you can select a data file and other options, such as the
destination table. The wizard-like dialog also enables you to detect and modify the configuration settings of
the CSV file.
Note
The result set must have a unique row identifier (such as a Primary Key or NOT
NULL unique index) as otherwise values cannot be imported because the result set
will be read-only.
6.6 MySQL Audit Inspector Interface

MySQL Workbench offers a graphical interface to the Audit Inspector. By default, the audit_log plugin is
not installed.
To activate the audit_log plugin:
1. Click Audit Inspector from the Administration secondary tab of the Navigator area to open the
Administration - Audit Inspector tab.
2. Click Install audit_log within the tab.
After the plugin is installed, the initial screen looks similar to the figure that follows. At this point, no entries
are listed.
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MySQL Audit Inspector Interface
Figure 6.24 Workbench: Audit Inspector: Initializing
When you first start the Audit Inspector, MySQL Workbench must cache the audit log for performance
reasons. MySQL Workbench then parses, indexes, and retrieves values from the encrypted cached file on
your local computer.
Generating the cache file can take a long time. If you press Abort during the caching process, MySQL
Workbench saves the results that were cached at the point you pressed Abort.
Note
MySQL Workbench will prompt for sudo access if the MySQL Workbench user is
unable to read the audit log file.
To generate the cache file, click Cache Selected Files for Browsing. When prompted, set a password
for the encrypted file to use when viewing this file. After caching an audit log, the Audit Inspector screen
displays the results as shown in the following figure. Each record includes a record ID, timestamp, type,
connection ID, user, host/IP, status, command class, and information.
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MySQL Enterprise Backup Interface
Figure 6.25 Workbench: Audit Inspector
The search field offers criteria for narrowing the displayed events, including Show events of type Fetch
and Show events of type Query, and defaults to Show all events. Custom filters are also available.
Click Add Files to Cache at any time to add new files to the cache. Click Delete Cache to remove the
cache file.
The next time you start the Audit Inspector, MySQL Workbench prompts you for the password that you set
during the initial step.
6.7 MySQL Enterprise Backup Interface

Commercial releases of MySQL Workbench include a graphical interface that enables you to use MySQL
Enterprise Backup (MEB) functionality to safeguard your MySQL data from unexpected loss. The specific
options may vary, depending on the version of MySQL and MySQL Workbench that you have installed. For
more information, see Section 6.7.1, “General Requirements”.
There are two MySQL Enterprise Backup operations available from MySQL Workbench:
• Online backup. Establishes a backup profile to define what should be backed up, where the backup
should be stored, and when (the frequency) MySQL should be backed up. With an active MySQL
connection tab open, select MySQL Enterprise Backup from the Server menu to view the Online
Backup page in the current tab.
• Backup recovery. Restores the MySQL server to a specific point in time, typically by restoring a
backup that was created by the Online Backup feature in MySQL Workbench. With an active MySQL
connection tab open, select Backup Recovery from the Server menu to view the Recovery page in the
current tab.
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The MySQL Enterprise Backup configuration is located on the MySQL server, and not locally within
MySQL Workbench. This information includes the MySQL Enterprise Backup configuration backup profiles,
job scheduling, backup operations, and data. The backup and restore operations can be scheduled to
executed with (or without) MySQL Workbench running.
For information comparing the different methods to import and export data using MySQL Workbench, see
6.7.1 General Requirements

MySQL Enterprise Backup (MEB) is a MySQL Enterprise feature that is separate from MySQL Workbench.
For more information about its functionality, see the MySQL Enterprise Backup documentation. MySQL
Workbench provides an interface to MySQL Enterprise Backup, as described in this section.
In addition to having MySQL Enterprise Backup installed on the target server, the following general
requirements also apply:
• A recent version of MySQL Enterprise Backup. The MySQL Enterprise Backup support policy is to
support the current GA version of MySQL Enterprise Backup, and the major version before that. This
dictates the minimum MySQL Enterprise Backup version required by MySQL Workbench, which is the
major version before the current GA release.
• Setting an encryption password is required to perform backup and restore operations on encrypted
tables (see Options Tab).
• Managing both local and remote MySQL instances is available on Linux and macOS, and managing
local MySQL instances is available on Microsoft Windows. Remote management is configured using
SSH Remote Management.
• A MySQL connection with a root user.
• The MySQL server configuration file path must be set and correct for the MySQL connection.
• The user running MySQL Workbench must be a sudo user (Linux and macOS) that is able to execute
the MySQL Enterprise Backup binary.
• The sudo user must keep the HOME environment variable when executing system commands, which
means adding the following entry to the /etc/sudoers file safely by using the visudo command:
Prerequisite Settings
To set the following prerequisites, click Settings from the main page (either Online Backup or Restore):
• A path to the MySQL Enterprise Backup executable. MySQL Enterprise Backup is available with
eDelivery or My Oracle Support (MOS). MySQL Workbench attempts to locate the MySQL Enterprise
Backup executable based on the version MySQL server in use, so check the path and adjust it
accordingly. For example:
• For MySQL 8.0, use the MySQL Enterprise Backup version with the same version number as the
server.
• For MySQL 5.7, use MySQL Enterprise Backup 4.1.
• For MySQL 5.6, use MySQL Enterprise Backup 3.12.
• The path to the backup home directory, where backup profiles and data is stored. This can be created
from within Workbench from Settings.
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• The MySQL account for the backup process. The available actions depends on the current state of this
set up, with options including:
• Create MEB Account: Available if a backup user does not already exist.
• Change Password: Available if a backup user does exist.
• Fix Grants for MEB: Available if the user's privileges are invalid, which alters the user account by
adding the RELOAD, SUPER, and REPLICATION CLIENT ON *.* privileges.
The following figure shows an example of the prerequisites.
Figure 6.26 Workbench: MySQL Enterprise Backup Settings
If any of the requirements are not met, then an error will be generated when attempting to use MySQL
Enterprise Backup features.
After Uninstalling Workbench
The following list of notes describes the behavior of MySQL Enterprise Backup operations after you
remove MySQL Workbench:
• Uninstalling Workbench does not remove the associated MySQL Enterprise Backup backup tasks.
To stop the scheduled backups, edit the related "Task Scheduler" entries on Windows, or remove the
associated cron jobs on Linux and macOS.
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Online Backup
• Uninstalling MySQL Workbench does not remove the MySQL Enterprise Backup configuration file, the
configuration files generated for each defined profile, or the MySQL backups.
6.7.2 Online Backup

This section describes how to configure a backup profile that defines what should be backed up, where
the backup should be stored, and when (the frequency) it should be backed up. With an active MySQL
connection tab open, select MySQL Enterprise Backup from the Server menu to view the main Online
Backup overview page in the current tab.
The following figure shows the Online Backup page that includes a full and a partial backup job configured
for the current MySQL instance.
Figure 6.27 Workbench: MySQL Enterprise Backup
Online Backup Elements

The Online Backup page is separated into three sections:
• Backup Jobs: Used for managing backup jobs for the MySQL server. A backup job (profile) is a
configuration file used to store information about what is backed up, where the backup is stored, and
optionally when backups will be performed.
Right-click a backup job to access the available actions, such as Configure Job, Delete Job, and
Execute Backup. The context menu also offers two additional options:
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Online Backup
• Execute Backup to Image File: Saves the backup to a single file, and prompts for the file name.
• Copy Backup Command to Clipboard: Generates a command for executing the backup, and copies
it to your clipboard. You might execute this command in the shell or terminal, which looks similar to:
/bin/mysqlbackup --defaults-file="/var/lib/meb/foo.cnf" --show-progress=stdout backup --with-timestamp
• Backup Job Details: Displays information about the state of a specific (selected) backup job. It includes
information from the Settings page, and information specific to the selected backup.
• Recent Activity: Historical information about the backup operations performed on the server. View the
backup log by right-clicking an entry and choosing View Backup Log
A progress dialog is generated for the backup operation.
Configuring a Backup Job
The following information applies to the new job operation. Configure Job is used to modify existing jobs.
The Backup Profile Name option and its associated Comments field are used to identify the profile
of the backup job. Each backup job name is shown on the main page. A new backup job separates the
configuration information into four subtabs: Schedule, Contents, Options, and Advanced.
Schedule Tab. The Schedule subtab optionally sets a backup schedule for both full and incremental
backups. The schedule uses the Windows Tasks Scheduler on Microsoft Windows, and a cron job on
Linux and macOS. It is scheduled using the operating system user that is scheduling the backup, which is
typically the MySQL user.
A full backup is slower than the incremental backup that merges with a full backup. A common scenario is
to set a full backup as weekly, and an incremental backup as daily. For additional information about backup
performance, see Optimizing Backup Performance.
Contents Tab. The Contents subtab defines the schemas and tables to back up, and whether the job
is a full or partial backup:
• Full backup: All schemas and tables are backed up (see the figure that follows).
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Online Backup
Figure 6.28 Workbench: MySQL Enterprise Backup Configuration Showing the Contents Tab
• Partial: Select the schemas and tables (objects) that you want to back up. Choose Select objects
to included/excluded to open the table inclusion (and exclusion) options. For additional information
about the include, exclude, and Transportable Tablespace options, see the MySQL Enterprise Backup
documentation titled Partial Backup and Restore Options.
Options Tab. The Options subtab includes settings to modify the default behavior of the backup
process.
• Backup Storage Directory: By default, the Backup Storage Directory is stored under a sub-folder
using the name of the Backup Profile Name in the MySQL Backup Home Directory setting.
A new sub-folder is created for each backup, named with its timestamp. An example subdirectory is
"2016-02-22_17-49-18" where 17:49:18 is the time.
Incremental backups are also stored in the Backup Storage Directory directory, but in their own inc/
sub-folder. Each incremental backup also creates its own timestamped sub-folder within inc/.
• Compress Backup: Optionally compress non-incremental InnoDB backups.
• Apply Log after backup: After a backup is completed, an apply-log operation is needed before it
can be completed. This can be done after a backup, before recovery, or at any other time. Disabled by
default.
• Skip Unused Pages: Use this option to reduce the backup size by removing unused pages that are
typically generated by bulk deletes. Disabled by default.
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Backup Recovery
Note
Enabling this option increases the restoration time, because the unused pages
that were removed must be added back during the recovery process.
• Incremental Backups Using Only the Redo Log (incremental-with-redo-log-only): Specifies that an
incremental backup is to be created using only the redo log.
• Encrypt Password: Sets a password that is required to back up and restore encrypted tables.
Advanced Tab. The Advanced subtab allows you to pass in additional MySQL Enterprise Backup
options.
Note
These additional options are not validated.
To recover backups, see Section 6.7.3, “Backup Recovery”.
6.7.3 Backup Recovery

The backup-recovery wizard is used to restore MySQL Enterprise Backup data. For more information
about creating a backup using MySQL Workbench, see Section 6.7.2, “Online Backup”.
The wizard enables you to restore a backup from a folder, an image file, or from a backup profile. Before
attempting to restore MySQL data from a backup to a target server, remove all of the files in the data
directory of that server.
With an active MySQL connection tab open, select Backup Recovery from the Server menu to open the
wizard in the current tab. As the following figure shows, you must first select the source of data to use for
the recovery.
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Backup Recovery
Figure 6.29 Workbench: MySQL Enterprise Backup - Recovery
Select one of the following source options and then click Next to continue:
• Restore based on a Backup Profile configured on this server.
This option enables you to choose from one of the existing MySQL Enterprise Backup profiles. For
information about configuring a profile, see Section 6.7.2, “Online Backup”.
• Restore using a MySQL Backup image file.
This option opens the default file browser to assist you with locating a backup image file to restore.
• Restore from a folder containing a MySQL Backup.
This option opens the default file browser to search for a backup folder.
For example, if the backup profile option was selected as a data source type in the wizard, the next step
provides a list of existing profiles from which to choose. The following figure shows this wizard step with
the FullBackup profile selected and the Use most recent backup option enabled to ensure that only the
latest content is included. The wizard also shows the specific details of the selected profile, such as the
backup type, content, start and finish time, and the backup variables.
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Backup Recovery
Figure 6.30 Workbench: MySQL Enterprise Backup - Recovery Using a Backup Profile
The next step provides the View Backup Content option, which lists the content to be restored. For
example, the following figure shows a set of sakila database tables, whether each table is in the backup
and in the MySQL instance, and the action to be performed by the wizard.
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Backup Recovery
Figure 6.31 Workbench: MySQL Enterprise Backup - Recovery Showing Content Table View
Note
The Show System check box toggles internal schemas from view, schemas such
as the internal performance_schema and mysql tables.
After verifying the content and closing the content view, click Restore to execute the restoration process
and to toggle the message logs as shown in the following figure.
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MySQL Enterprise Firewall Interface
Figure 6.32 Workbench: MySQL Enterprise Backup - Recovery Tasks
6.8 MySQL Enterprise Firewall Interface

MySQL Workbench provides a graphical interface to MySQL Enterprise Firewall. For additional information
about MySQL Enterprise Firewall, see https://dev.mysql.com/doc/en/firewall.html.
Setup and Configuration

MySQL Workbench can manage the MySQL Enterprise Firewall installation and configuration by installing
(or uninstalling) and enabling (or disabling) the plugin, and enabling (or disabling) Firewall Tracer.
To prepare MySQL Enterprise Firewall plugin:
1. Open a connection to MySQL Enterprise Edition.
2. From the Navigator area of the sidebar and with the Administration secondary tab selected, click
Firewall (see MYSQL ENTERPRISE) to open the Administration - Firewall secondary tab in the
workspace.
If MySQL Enterprise Firewall is not installed, click Install Firewall. After the plugin is installed, MySQL
Workbench displays three controls: Installed status, Enabled status, and Tracer status. The
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Firewall Rules and Information
following figure shows the MySQL Enterprise Firewall installed, but not yet enabled within MySQL
Workbench.
Figure 6.33 MySQL Enterprise Firewall Installation and Configuration
3. Click Enable Firewall to make the plugin fully operational, and optionally click Enable Firewall Tracer
to enable tracing. You can modify the plugin controls as follows:
• Install: Executes queries to install the new MySQL Enterprise Firewall tables and stored procedure
needed to switch the state. Uninstall reverses these effects, which also removes the recorded rules.
• Enable: Executes SET GLOBAL mysql_firewall_mode = ON; against the connected MySQL server.
Disable sets it to OFF instead of ON.
This is a runtime operation. Configure the MySQL server configuration file to enable MySQL
Enterprise Firewall at startup. Specifically, select the mysql_firewall_mode option in the
configuration option to enable it after a restart. You can edit the MySQL configuration file with an
external editor or use MySQL Workbench to edit it.
Firewall Rules and Information

The Firewall Rules tab lists the active and recorded rules for a given user, the state of each rule, and
includes options to add, delete, and save rules. The next figure shows the actions available within the
Firewall Rules tab.
• State (mode): Options include OFF (disables the firewall), PROTECTING (enables the allowlist),
RECORDING (training mode), and RESET (removes the rules). For additional information about the
meaning of these states, see MySQL Enterprise Firewall Stored Procedures.
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wbcopytables Utility
• Administrative actions include Add and Delete for individual rules, and Clear to clear (remove) all rules.
Add From File prompts for a firewall rules text file (defaults to the .fwr extension) that contains one
rule per line, and Save To File saves the current rules.
• Active rules are used in PROTECTIVE mode, and Rules being recorded are entries still being
RECORDED. Switching from RECORDING to PROTECTING mode copies the recorded rules into the
active rule subset.
Note
MySQL Workbench executes queries, gets variables, and performs a lot of checks.
For this reason, MySQL Workbench is more useful as an administration tool for
MySQL Enterprise Firewall than a tool to record rules. For example, RECORDING
rules in MySQL Workbench will record the behind-the-scenes operations performed
by MySQL Workbench for the MySQL user. Also, using MySQL Workbench by
a MySQL user in PROTECTING mode will attempt to execute operations that a
typical firewalled MySQL user might not have access to.
Figure 6.34 MySQL Enterprise Firewall Rules
6.9 wbcopytables Utility

wbcopytables is a command-line utility included in MySQL Workbench that enables you to copy table
data from a supported source database server to MySQL. It is used by the MySQL Workbench Migration
Wizard to copy data after the schema is migrated and created in the target MySQL server.
wbcopytables can connect to the source database using either ODBC, the Python DBAPI, or the native
MySQL client library.
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Connection Parameters
The copy executes a SELECT statement on the source database and then INSERT to insert the retrieved
rows into the target MySQL server.
Table 6.2 File Location (Default)

Operating System Location
Linux /usr/bin/wbcopytables
macOS /Applications/MySQLWorkbench.app/Contents/MacOS/
wbcopytables
Windows C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Workbench
8.0\wbcopytables.exe
Connection Parameters
Option parameters for source and target connections are:
• --odbc-source=ODBC_connection_string: The syntax of the ODBC connection string uses

standard ODBC syntax. You can also use a ODBC data source name (DSN).
• --mysql-source=MySQL_connection_string: Use for MySQL sources (when doing a MySQL to

MySQL migration or copy). It uses the same syntax as the MySQL Utilities:
• For TCP/IP connections: username[:password]@host:port
• For local socket connections: username[:password]@::socket_path
• --source-password: Passes the connection password of the data source.
• --target=MySQL_connection_string: Specifies the target connection.
• --passwords-from-stdin: Passes a passwords through STDIN. Source and target passwords must
be separated by a tab character.
You can use ODBC specific data source options from the source RDBMS to specify the number of rows to
fetch at a time for the source SELECT statement.
Option parameters for source and target connections that support SSH tunneling to copy data are:
• --source-ssh-port=ssh port
• --source-ssh-host=ssh host
• --source-ssh-user=ssh user
• --source-ssh-password=ssh password
• --target-ssh-port=ssh port
• --target-ssh-host=ssh host
• --target-ssh-user=ssh user
• --target-ssh-password=ssh password
Table Specification
One or more tables can be specified in the command line for the copy operation. There are two copy types:
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Table Specification
• Full table copy: --table
• Range copy: --table-range
Both table copy types require a set of common arguments:
• Source schema: The schema or catalog to which the table belongs. If quoting is required, it must be
done using the syntax from the source RDBMS. For example, SQL Server uses [square_brackets].
• Source table: The table to copy. If the source RDBMS uses a schema name in addition to a catalog,
both schema and table must be specified here and separated by a dot. For example, [dbo].[mytable].
• Target schema: The name of the MySQL schema. If quoting is needed, it must use the MySQL backtick
syntax. For example, `sakila`.
• Target table: The name of the MySQL table.
• Select expression: The list of fields to SELECT. This will be inserted verbatim into the source SELECT
statement.
Caution
Use caution as this expression is copied directly into the source SELECT
statement.
For the select expression, if both the source and target tables have the same fields in the same order, and
use compatible types, you can simply pass * here, which will build a query like "SELECT * FROM [dbo].
[mytable]". If not, you can specify the fields as you would in the SELECT statement, which are comma (,)
separated and with proper escaping/quoting specific to the source RDBMS. You can also specify typecasts
and/or data conversions that the source RDBMS supports. For example:
[client_id], [name], [address], AsText([location])
Because each option must be interpreted as a single option by the wbcopytables command, you must
perform OS shell specific quoting whenever necessary. Usually, quoting your parameter values with 'single'
or "double" quotes is enough. This is in addition to any database specific quoting you use.
Full Table Copy

This argument performs a full SELECT on the source table, fetches records, and then inserts them into the
target table.
There are no additional arguments required.
The --table syntax is as follows:

--table Source_Schema Source_Table Target_Schema Target_Table Select_Expression
Range Copy
This argument performs a SELECT copy on the source table for the specified range. The table must have a
numeric UNIQUE NOT NULL or PRIMARY KEY that is used to create a WHERE expression for the range.
The --table-range syntax is as follows:

--table-range Source_Schema Source_Table Target_Schema Target_Table Select_Expression Source_Key Range_Star
The generated expression is:
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Other Options
key_column >= range_start AND key_column <= range_end
If you specify -1 for Range_End, then the expression is:

key_column >= range_start
Other Options
• --thread-count=Number: If you are copying more than one table, you can use this option to divide
the tables across several threads. There is no support for dividing a single table across many threads.
• --count-only: Only performs a COUNT(*) of the SELECT generated by the --table option that was
used. The target schema and table can be omitted in this case.
• --truncate-target: Executes a TRUNCATE TABLE command on each target table that is copied.
Trigger Handling
Because there is no way to temporarily disable triggers in MySQL and they can affect the copy process,
MySQL Workbench will backup and drop all triggers from the target MySQL database before the copy
process starts, and then these triggers are restored after the copy finishes. The triggers are backed up in
the target schema under a table named wb_tmp_triggers.
• --disable-triggers-on=Schema_Name: Performs the backup and DROP process for all triggers in
the specified schema.
• --reenable-triggers-on=Schema_Name: Restores triggers previously backed up to the

wb_tmp_triggers table.
• --dont-disable-triggers: Bypasses the trigger disabling step.
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Chapter 7 Performance Tools
Table of Contents
7.1 Performance Dashboard ........................................................................................................... 179
7.2 Performance Schema Reports ................................................................................................... 181
7.3 Query Statistics ........................................................................................................................ 186
7.4 Visual Explain Plan ................................................................................................................... 187
7.5 Tutorial: Using Explain to Improve Query Performance ............................................................... 190
7.1 Performance Dashboard

View server performance statistics in a graphical dashboard. To display the dashboard, open a query tab
and then click Dashboard from the Performance area of the Navigator sidebar with the Management tab
selected. The following figure shows the layout of the information within the Administration - Dashboard
tab.
Note
This feature requires MySQL Server 5.6 or higher.
Figure 7.1 Performance: Dashboard
179
Network Status
Network Status
This highlights statistics for network traffic sent and received by the MySQL server over client connections.
Data points include the Incoming Network Traffic, Outgoing Network Traffic, and Client Connections.
MySQL Status
This highlights the primary MySQL server activity and performance statistics. Data points include the Table
Open Cache efficiency, SQL Statements Executed, and counts (per second) for SELECT, INSERT,
UPDATE, DELETE, CREATE, ALTER, and DROP statements.
InnoDB Status
This provides an overview of the InnoDB Buffer Pool and disk activity that is generated by the InnoDB
storage engine. Data points are separated into three groups:
Note
Hover over a graph to see additional information, such as a total count.
• Usage
• Read Requests: The number of logical read requests (per second) InnoDB has performed to the buffer
pool.
• Write Requests: The number of logical write requests (per second) InnoDB has performed to the buffer
pool.
• Disk Reads: The number of logical reads that InnoDB could not satisfy from the buffer pool. As a
result, these had to be read from the disk.
• InnoDB Buffer Pool Usage: The percentage of the InnoDB buffer pool that is in use. Hover over the
graphic to see additional information, such as Usage Rate and Pages Free.
• Writes
• Data Written: The number of writes written to the InnoDB redo log file.
• Writes: The number of physical writes written to the InnoDB redo log file.
• InnoDB Disk Writes: Hover over this dynamic graph to see the number of disk writes over a specific
second. The available range includes the last 120 seconds.
• Writing: Total amount of data (in bytes) written using file operations by the InnoDB storage engine.
• Reads
• Doublewrite Buffer Writes: The number of doublewrite operations that were performed.
• InnoDB Disk Reads: Hover over this dynamic graph to see the number of disk reads over a specific
second. The available range includes the last 120 seconds.
• Reading: Total amount of data (in bytes) read in file operations by the InnoDB storage engine.
180
Performance Schema Reports
7.2 Performance Schema Reports

Performance schema based reports provide insight into the MySQL server operations through helpful high-
level reports. MySQL Workbench uses the SYS views on the Performance Schema to generate over 20
reports to help analyze the performance of your MySQL databases. Reports help analyze IO hotspots,
discover high cost SQL statements, and review wait statistics and InnoDB engine metrics. For additional
information about the SYS schema, see MySQL sys Schema.
Note
Installation and Configuration

A GUI for configuring and fine tuning the Performance Schema instrumentation (see the figure that
follows). Initially, this loads an Easy Setup tab that is enough for most users. To enable all available
Performance Schema instruments, pause your pointer device over Fully Enabled and click the circle on
the slide bar.
The SYS schema is bundled with MySQL Server 5.7 and above, and MySQL Workbench uses that
version. However, for MySQL Server 5.6, Workbench installs its own bundled version of the SYS schema.
Note
Note
The size of the saved digested query is determined by the MySQL server.
181
Installation and Configuration
Figure 7.2 Performance Schema Setup: Easy Setup
Clicking Show Advanced provides methods to fine tune the Performance Schema instrumentation. The
next figure shows the tabs related to advanced instrumentation and the Introduction tab selected.
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Performance Report Controls
Figure 7.3 Performance Schema Setup: Introduction
Performance Report Controls

Performance report data can be viewed and exported using the following controls (see the figure that
follows):
• Export: Export all entries and associated data (and column headings) from the current performance
report, which includes all queries and values. Opens a file dialog for export.
• Copy Selected: Copies a single entry and associated data (and column headings) from the current
performance report. Saves to the system's clipboard. An example:
• Copy Query: Copies the SQL query that generated the performance report. Saves to the system
clipboard.
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Performance Report Descriptions
• Refresh: Refreshes (reloads) the performance report.
Figure 7.4 Performance Reports: Statement Analysis
Individual reports are shown in the following groups:
Memory Usage
• Total Memory – Shows total memory allocated.
• Top Memory by Event – Shows events consuming the most memory.
• Top Memory by User – Shows users consuming the most memory.
• Top Memory by Host – Shows hosts consuming the most memory.
• Top Memory by Thread – Shows threads consuming the most memory.
Hot Spots for I/O
• Top File I/O Activity Report – Shows the files with the most I/O usage in bytes.
• Top I/O by File by Time – Shows the highest I/O usage by file and latency.
• Top I/O by Event Category – Shows the highest I/O data usage by event categories.
• Top I/O in Time by Event Categories – Shows the highest I/O time consumers by event
categories.
184
• Top I/O by User/Thread – Shows the top I/O time consumers by user and thread.
High Cost SQL Statements
• Statement Analysis – Lists statements with various aggregated statistics.
• Statements in Highest 5 percent by Runtime – Lists all statements in which the average
runtime (in microseconds) is in the highest five percent.
• Using Temp Tables – Lists all statements that use temporary tables (access the highest percentage
of disk temporary tables, then memory temporary tables).
• With Sorting – Lists all normalized statements that have done sorts (access in the following priority
order: sort_merge_passes, sort_scans, and sort_rows).
• Full Table Scans – Lists statements that have performed a full table scan. Access query
performance and the WHERE clause (or clauses). If no index is used, consider adding indexes for large
tables.
• Errors or Warnings – Lists statements that have raised errors or warnings.
Database Schema Statistics
• Schema Object Overview (High Overhead) – Shows the count by object for each schema. Note
that for instances with a large number of objects, this report may require extended time to execute.
• Schema Index Statistics – Shows the general statistics related to indexes.
• Schema Table Statistics – Shows the general statistics related to tables.
• Schema Table Statistics (with InnoDB buffer) – Shows schema tables with InnoDB buffer
statistics.
• Tables with Full Table Scans – Finds tables that are being accessed by full table scans,
ordering by the number of rows scanned (descending).
• Unused Indexes – Shows the list of indexes that were never used since the server started or since
P_S data collection started.
Wait Event Times (Expert)
• Global Waits by Time – Lists the top global wait events by their total time, ignoring idle (this may
not be very large).
• Waits by User by Time – Lists the top wait events by user and by their total time, ignoring idle (this
may not be very large).
• Wait Classes by Time – Lists the top wait classes by total time, ignoring idle (this may not be very
large).
• Waits Classes by Average Time – Lists the top wait classes by average time, ignoring idle (this
may not be very large).
InnoDB Statistics
• InnoDB Buffer Stats by Schema – Summarizes the output of the

INFORMATION_SCHEMA.INNODB_BUFFER_PAGE table, aggregating by schema.
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Query Statistics
• InnoDB Buffer Stats by Table – Summarizes the output of the

INFORMATION_SCHEMA.INNODB_BUFFER_PAGE table, aggregating by schema and table name.
User Resource Use
• Overview – Shows the resource use summary for each user.
• I/O Statistics – Shows the I/O use for each user.
• Statement Statistics – Shows the statement execution statistics for each user.
7.3 Query Statistics

The Query Stats SQL editor results tab (see the next two figures) uses Performance Schema data to
gather key statistics collected for executed query, such as timing, temporary tables, indexes, joins, and
more.
Requirements
• MySQL server 5.6 or higher.
• Query, Collect Performance Schema Stats enabled.
• The performance_schema enabled with statement instrumentation.
Figure 7.5 SQL Editor: Query Stats
186
Visual Explain Plan
Figure 7.6 SQL Editor: Query Stats with Performance Schema Graphs
7.4 Visual Explain Plan

The visual explain feature generates and displays a visual representation of the MySQL EXPLAIN
statement by using extended information available in the extended JSON format. MySQL Workbench
provides all of the EXPLAIN formats for executed queries including the raw extended JSON, traditional
format, and visual query plan.
Visual Explain Usage

To view a visual explain execution plan, execute your query from the SQL editor and then select
Execution Plan within the query results tab. The execution plan defaults to Visual Explain, but it
also includes a Tabular Explain view that is similar to what you see when executing EXPLAIN in
the MySQL client. For information about how MySQL executes statements, see Optimizing Queries with
EXPLAIN.
Visual Explain Conventions

The order of execution in a visual explain diagram is bottom to top and left to right. The diagram examples
that follow provide an overview of the graphic, textual, and informational conventions used to represent
aspects of the visual explain plans. For specific information, see:
187
• Graphic Conventions
• Textual and Informational Conventions
The visual explain diagram in the first figure shows a visual representation of the following query.
SELECT CONCAT(customer.last_name, ', ', customer.first_name)
AS customer, address.phone, film.title FROM rental
INNER JOIN customer ON rental.customer_id = customer.customer_id
INNER JOIN address ON customer.address_id = address.address_id
INNER JOIN inventory ON rental.inventory_id = inventory.inventory_id
INNER JOIN film ON inventory.film_id = film.film_id
WHERE rental.return_date IS NULL
AND rental_date + INTERVAL film.rental_duration DAY < CURRENT_DATE()
LIMIT 5;
Figure 7.7 A Visual Explain Example
The next visual explain diagram shows the visual representation of a query that contains a hash join.
Prior to MySQL Workbench 8.0.22, a hash join was represented by a block nested loop diamond for
queries executed by MySQL 8.0.19 (or earlier).
SELECT first_name, last_name
FROM actor
FULL JOIN film_actor
WHERE '' = film_actor.actor_id;
Figure 7.8 A Visual Explain Example with a Hash Join
188
Graphic Conventions
• Standard Boxes: tables
• Rounded boxes: operations such as GROUP and SORT
• Framed boxes: subqueries
• Diamonds: joins
Textual and Informational Conventions

• Standard text below boxes: table (or alias) name
• Bold text below boxes: key/index that was used
• Number in top right of a box: number of rows used from the table after filtering
• Number in top left of a box: relative cost of accessing that table (requires MySQL 5.7 or higher)
• Number to the right of nested loop (or hash join) diamonds: number of rows produced by the JOIN
• Number above the diamonds: relative cost of the JOIN (requires MySQL 5.7 or higher)
The following table shows the associated colors and descriptions used in the visual explain diagram. For
more information about cost estimates, see The Optimizer Cost Model.
Table 7.1 Visual Explain Diagram Information

System Color Text on Visual Diagram Tooltip Related Information
Name
SYSTEM Blue Single row: system constant Very low cost
CONST Blue Single row: constant Very low cost
EQ_REF Green Unique Key Lookup Low cost -- The optimizer is able to find
an index that it can use to retrieve the
required records. It is fast because the
index search directly leads to the page
with all the row data
REF Green Non-Unique Key Lookup Low-medium -- Low if the number of
matching rows is small; higher as the
number of rows increases
FULLTEXTYellow Fulltext Index Search Specialized FULLTEXT search. Low -- for
this specialized search requirement
REF_OR_NULL
Green Key Lookup + Fetch NULL Values Low-medium -- if the number of matching
rows is small; higher as the number of
rows increases
INDEX_MERGE
Green Index Merge Medium -- look for a better index
selection in the query to improve
performance
UNIQUE_SUBQUERY
Orange Unique Key Lookup into table of Low -- Used for efficient Subquery
subquery processing
INDEX_SUBQUERY
Orange Non-Unique Key Lookup into table of Low -- Used for efficient Subquery
subquery processing
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Tutorial: Using Explain to Improve Query Performance
System Color Text on Visual Diagram Tooltip Related Information

Name
RANGE Orange Index Range Scan Medium -- partial index scan
INDEX Red Full Index Scan High -- especially for large indexes
ALL Red Full Table Scan Very High -- very costly for large tables,
but less of an impact for small ones. No
usable indexes were found for the table,
which forces the optimizer to search
every row. This could also mean that the
search range is so broad that the index
would be useless.
UNKNOWN
Black unknown Note: This is the default, in case a match
cannot be determined
7.5 Tutorial: Using Explain to Improve Query Performance

This tutorial describes how to use Explain reports to locate and fix problematic (slow) queries. It uses the
DBT-3 database and begins with the following simple query example.
SELECT * FROM orders

WHERE YEAR(o_orderdate) = 1992 AND MONTH(o_orderdate) = 4
AND o_clerk LIKE '%0223';
As shown in the figure that follows, the query example was first executed in the Visual SQL editor. Next,
an Explain report was generated by clicking Explain Current Statement from the Query menu. The initial
report shows a Visual Explain image with information that appears when you move your pointer device
over the orders table in full table scan.
190
Figure 7.9 DBT-3 Explain Tutorial: Visual Explain with Full Table Scan
Optionally, you can switch to Tabular Explain as the next figure shows. Use the drop-down list to switch
between the visual and tabular representations.
Figure 7.10 DBT-3 Explain Tutorial: Tabular Explain with Full Table Scan
Questions about the query:
• Why did this query generate a full table scan?
• Why is the indexed o_orderdate column missing as a possible key?
Looking more closely, also notice that the indexed column is being used in an expression as "WHERE
YEAR(o_orderdate) = 1992 AND MONTH(o_orderdate) = 4", so the index is not used. To use
the existing index, you can adjust the query as follows.

WHERE o_orderdate BETWEEN '1992-04-01' AND '1992-04-30'
AND o_clerk LIKE '%0223';
The updated query example results in a Visual Explain image in which Index Range Scan replaces
the Full Table Scan generated by the last query example. The next two figures show the visual and
tabular representations of the modified query example.
191
Figure 7.11 DBT-3 Explain Tutorial: Visual Explain with Index Range Scan
Figure 7.12 DBT-3 Explain Tutorial: Tabular Explain with Index Range Scan
Notice the differences. The Type changed from ALL to range, possible keys (and used key) changed
from NULL to i_o_orderdate, and the number of scanned rows changed from 1.5 million to about 33
thousand. Still, scanning 33 thousand rows while returning just 18 is unnecessary, so the focus can shift to
the o_clerk column. The next query example (and Tabular Explain figure) adds the following index that
should improve performance.
CREATE INDEX i_o_clerk ON orders(o_clerk);
Figure 7.13 DBT-3 Explain Tutorial: Tabular Explain with Index Range Scan and After Index
192
The new index is not being considered as a possible key because the query is searching the suffix of the
o_clerk column and indexes do not work with suffixes (although they do work with prefixes). Instead, this
simple example could use the entire clerk ID. Adjusting the query as follows shows better results.

WHERE o_orderdate BETWEEN '1992-04-01' AND '1992-04-30'
AND o_clerk LIKE 'Clerk#000000223';
The figures that follow represent the effect of the updated query example in Visual Explain and Tabular
Explain respectively.
Figure 7.14 DBT-3 Explain Tutorial: Visual Explain with Index Range Scan and Full ID
Figure 7.15 DBT-3 Explain Tutorial: Tabular Explain with Index Range Scan and Full ID
193
The new o_clerk index was considered and used, and the query scanned 1546 rows instead of 32642,
and the query execution improved from 0.281 to 0.234 seconds. However, EXPLAIN estimates that this
query scans 1546 rows to return 18. After reviewing the query again, consider that a multiple-column
index can meet the conditions of the WHERE clause that is based on both the o_orderdate and o_clerk
columns as the next statement shows.
CREATE INDEX io_clerk_date ON orders(o_clerk, o_orderdate)
Note
o_clerk appears as the first column in the index because o_orderdate uses a
range.
Now, executing the adjusted query produces even better results. An estimated 18 rows are both scanned
and returned, and the execution time of the query example is 0.234 seconds as the next Visual Explain and
Tabular Explain figures show.
Figure 7.16 DBT-3 Explain Tutorial: Visual Explain with Multiple-Column Index Range Scan
194
Figure 7.17 DBT-3 Explain Tutorial: Tabular Explain with Multiple-Column Index Range Scan
The table that follows summarize the results of the modifications made to the query during this tutorial.
Table 7.2 DBT-3 Explain Tutorial Query Comparison
Type Possible keys Key Rows Duration Extra info Rows

Scanned (seconds) returned
all NULL NULL 1.50M 1.201 Using where 18
range i_o_orderdate i_o_orderdate
32642 0.281 Using index condition; 18
Using where
range i_o_orderdate, i_o_clerk 1546 0.234 Using index condition; 18
i_o_clerk Using where
range i_o_orderdate, i_o_clerk_date
18 0.234 Using index condition 18
i_o_clerk,
i_o_clerk_date
195
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Chapter 8 Database Development
Table of Contents
8.1 Visual SQL Editor ..................................................................................................................... 197
8.1.1 SQL Query Tab ............................................................................................................. 199
8.1.2 SQL Query Toolbar ........................................................................................................ 200
8.1.3 Query and Edit Menus ................................................................................................... 202
8.1.4 Result Grid .................................................................................................................... 203
8.1.5 SQL Additions - Snippets Tab ........................................................................................ 207
8.1.6 SQL Additions - Context Help Tab .................................................................................. 209
8.1.7 Output Panel ................................................................................................................. 210
8.1.8 Table Data Search Tab .................................................................................................. 212
8.1.9 Export or Import a Table ................................................................................................ 213
8.1.10 MySQL Table Editor ..................................................................................................... 214
8.1.11 Code Generation Overview ........................................................................................... 223
8.2 Object Management .................................................................................................................. 228
8.2.1 Object Browser and Editor Navigator .............................................................................. 228
8.2.2 Session and Object Information Panel ............................................................................ 231
8.2.3 Schema and Table Inspector .......................................................................................... 231
A set of visual tools to create, edit, and manage SQL queries, database connections, and objects.
8.1 Visual SQL Editor

The visual SQL editor consists of a set of specialized editors (query, schema, table, and so on) and three
panels: sidebar, secondary sidebar, and output area. Each editor opens in a separate secondary tab within
an active MySQL connection tab. Each panel can be hidden or shown. Together the editors and panels
enable you to:
• Build, edit, and run queries
• Create and edit data
• View and export results
• Perform basic RDBMS administrative tasks
Color syntax highlighting, context help, and code completion assist you in writing and debugging SQL
statements. The integrated EXPLAIN plans provide data to help optimize the your queries. The following
figure shows the main elements of the visual editor.
197
Description of the Visual SQL Editor Elements
Figure 8.1 Visual SQL Editor
Description of the Visual SQL Editor Elements

1. Home screen tab. The Home screen tab provides quick access to connections, models, and the
MySQL Migration wizard. Unlike the other main tabs, the Home screen tab does not close. For
additional information, see Chapter 4, Home Screen Tab.
2. Connection tab. Each connection made to the MySQL server is represented by a separate connection
tab. A server can be active or inactive when the connection tab for it is opened. For assistance in
creating and managing MySQL connections, see Chapter 5, Connections in MySQL Workbench.
3. SQL query tab. The SQL query tab is a secondary tab that opens by default when you make a
connection to a MySQL server. Each query tab is uniquely identified by an incrementing number:
query 1, query 2, and so on. To close an open tab, click the x on the tab. For a closer look at query
editing in MySQL Workbench, (see Section 8.1.1, “SQL Query Tab”).
All SQL query tabs provide an area to edit queries. You can open other specialized editors within
tabs in this same central area. For example, you can edit schemas, tables, columns, and so on.
Administration tabs also open in this area.
4. Main menu bar. The menu bar has the following menus: File, Edit, View, Query, Database, Server,
Tools, Scripting, and Help. The actions available to you depend on which tab is selected when you
click a menu. For a description of frequently used menus, see Section 8.1.3, “Query and Edit Menus”.
5. Main toolbar. The quick actions in this toolbar are (ordered from left to right):
• Create a new SQL tab for executing queries
• Open an SQL script file in a new query tab
• Open Inspector for the selected object
198
SQL Query Tab
• Create a new schema in the connected server
• Create a new table in the active schema in connected server
• Create a new view in the active schema in the connected server
• Create a new stored procedure in the active schema in the connected server
• Create a new function in the active schema in the connected server
• Search table data for text in objects selected in the sidebar schema tree
• Reconnect to DBMS
6. Shortcut actions. Provides the following shortcuts (ordered from left to right):
• Show preferences dialog (see Section 3.2, “Workbench Preferences”)
• Hide or show the sidebar panel
• Hide or show the output area panel
• Hide or show the secondary sidebar panel
7. Sidebar panel. The sidebar has two main labels: Navigator and Information. The labels are omitted on
some hosts.
The Navigator has two subtabs: Administration (previously named Management) and Schemas. You
can merge (or separate) the content of the two tabs into a single list by clicking merge ( ).
The Information area provides the Object Info and Session subtabs, which include read-only
information about a selected object and about the active connection.
8. Secondary sidebar panel (SQL Additions). The SQL Additions area provides the following subtabs:
• Context Help (see Section 8.1.6, “SQL Additions - Context Help Tab”)
• Snippets (see Section 8.1.5, “SQL Additions - Snippets Tab”)
9. Output area panel. The output panel can display a summary of the executed queries in the following
forms: Action Output, Text Output, or History Output. For additional information, see Section 8.1.7,
“Output Panel”.
The next sections describe how to use the visual SQL editor.
8.1.1 SQL Query Tab

The SQL query secondary tab opens by default when you make a connection to a server from the Home
screen. It includes a query editor area and a toolbar. You can enter SQL statements directly into the query
editor area. The statements entered can be saved to a file or snippet for later use. At any point, you can
also execute the statements you have entered.
To save a snippet of code entered into the query editor, click Save SQL to Snippets List ( ) from the
SQL query toolbar, enter a name (optional), and click OK. The following figure shows the main elements of
a query tab.
199
SQL Query Toolbar
Figure 8.2 SQL Editor - SQL Query Tab
Executing a SELECT query will display the associated result set in the SQL View panel, directly below the
SQL Query panel. These cells are editable if MySQL Workbench is able to determine how, as for example
they are editable if a Primary or Unique key exists within the result set. If not, MySQL Workbench will
display a "read-only" icon at the bottom-right corner of the SQL View panel, and hovering the mouse cursor
over this icon will provide a hint as to why it's not editable.
Note
To quickly enter the name of a table, view, or column, double-click the item in the
Schema Palette. The item name will be inserted into the SQL Query panel.
The SQL editor has several configurable panels and tabs, as shown in the previous figure.
8.1.2 SQL Query Toolbar

The SQL query toolbar provides actions that enable you to create and manage queries. The following
figure shows the set buttons in the toolbar, located within the SQL query tab.
200
SQL Query Toolbar
Figure 8.3 SQL Query Toolbar
SQL query tools (from left to right) are:
• Open a script file in this editor: Loads content from a saved SQL script into the SQL editor.
• Save the script to a file: Enables you to save the current content of the SQL editor to a file.
• Execute the selected portion of the script or everything, if there is no selection: Provides a simple
way to execute the entire query or a subset of the query.
• Execute the statement under the keyboard cursor: Uses the position the keyboard cursor to identify
and execute the query.
• Execute the EXPLAIN command on the statement under the keyboard cursor: Uses the position
the keyboard cursor to identify the query and then executes EXPLAIN. A result grid tab is also displayed
when executing an EXPLAIN statement.
Alternatively, the Visual Explain plan is already available for all executed queries. Select Execution Plan
from the results tab to view it.
• Stop the query being executed: Halts execution of the currently executing SQL script. The connection
to the database server is not restarted and all open transactions remain open.
• Toggle whether execution of SQL script should continue after failed statements: If the red
“breakpoint” circle is displayed, the script terminates on a statement that fails. If you click the button
so that the green arrow is displayed, execution continues past the failed code, possibly generating
additional result sets. In either case, any error generated from attempting to execute the faulty
statement is recorded in the Output pane. You can also set this behavior from the SQL Execution user
preferences panel.
• Commit the current transaction: All query tabs in the same connection share the same transactions.
To have independent transactions, you must open a new connection.
• Rollback the current transaction: All query tabs in the same connection share the same transactions.
To have independent transactions, you must open a new connection.
• Toggle autocommit mode: When enabled, each statement is committed immediately. All query tabs in
the same connection share the same transactions. To have independent transactions, you must open a
new connection.
Autocommit is enabled by default. To disable the default behavior, see the SQL Execution section of
the MySQL Workbench Preferences dialog.
• Set limit for the number of rows returned by queries: MySQL Workbench automatically adds the
LIMIT clause with the configured number of rows to SELECT queries. The default value is 1000.
The default value (1000) can be changed from the SQL Execution section of the MySQL Workbench
Preferences dialog.
• Save current statement or selection to the snippet list: For more information about the snippet list,
• Beautify/reformat the SQL script: By default, SQL keywords are changed to uppercase. This
functionality can be changed from the SQL Execution section of the MySQL Workbench Preferences
dialog.
201
Query and Edit Menus
• Show the Find panel for the editor: Click Done to close the panel.
• Toggle display of invisible characters: When selected, displays invisible characters, such as
newlines, spaces, and tabs. A new line is represented as [LF], a space as a single dot (.), and a tab as a
right arrow.
• Toggle wrapping of long lines: When selected, wraps long lines in the SQL editor to eliminate the
need to scroll. Deselecting this feature for long files is recommended.
8.1.3 Query and Edit Menus

When an SQL query tab is selected, the most important items on the main menu bar are the Query and
Edit menus.
SQL Query Menu

The Query menu features the following items:
• Execute (All or Selection): Executes all statements in the SQL Query area, or only the selected
statements.
• Execute (All or Selection) to Text: Executes all statements in the SQL Query area, or only the selected
statements, and displays it in plain text like the standard MySQL command line console.
• Execute Current Statement: Executes the current SQL statement.
• Execute Current Statement (Vertical Text Output): Executes all statements in the SQL Query area,
or only the selected statements, and displays it in plain text like the MySQL command line console does
vertically (\G).
• Explain Current Statement: Describes the current statement by using the MySQL EXPLAIN statement.
• Visual Explain Current Statement: Visually describes the current statement, based on EXPLAIN
information provided by MySQL Server 5.6 and above. MySQL Workbench parses the EXPLAIN (JSON)
output from MySQL server 5.6+, and outputs a visual representation.
For additional information about Visual Explain, see Section 7.4, “Visual Explain Plan” and Section 7.5,
“Tutorial: Using Explain to Improve Query Performance”.
• Stop: Stops executing the currently running script.
• Stop Script Execution On Errors: If enabled, MySQL Workbench stops executing the a query if errors
are found. It can be enabled/disabled from this menu.
• Limit Rows: By default, the number of returned rows (LIMIT) is 1000. Values defined here affects
subsequent statements. The number ranges from 10 to 50000, and "Don't Limit".
• Collect Performance Schema Stats: Provides data to the Query Stats result set view, which includes
statement specific information about Timing, Rows processed, Temporary tables, Joins per type, Sorting,
and Index usage.
• Collect Resultset Field Metadata: Provides data to the Form Editor and Field Types result set views.
• Reconnect to Server: Reconnects to the MySQL server.
• New Tab to Current Server: Creates a duplicate of the current SQL Editor tab.
• Auto-Commit Transactions: Enable to auto-commit transactions.
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Result Grid
• Commit Transaction: Commits a database transaction.
• Rollback Transaction: Rolls back a database transaction.
• Commit Result Edits: Commits any changes you have made to the server.
• Discard Result Edits: Discards any changes you have made.
• Export Results: Exports result sets to a file. Selecting this option displays the Export Query Results
to File dialog. The dialog enables you to select which result set you wish to export, the file format (CSV,
HTML, XML), and the name and location of the output file. Then click Export to export the data.
Edit Menu
The Edit menu provides the Format submenu. The Format submenu includes the following menu items:
• Beautify Query: Reformats the query selected in the query tab and lays it out in nicely indented fashion.
• UPCASE Keywords: Converts keywords to uppercase in the currently selected query in the query tab.
• lowercase Keywords: Converts keywords to lowercase in the currently selected query in the query tab.
• Un/Comment Selection: Comments the lines currently selected in the query tab. If the lines are already
commented, this operation removes the comments.
• Auto-complete: Triggers the auto-completion wizard. This is enabled (and triggered) by default, and can
be disabled with Preferences, SQL Editor, Automatically Start Code Completion. Auto-completion
will list functions, keywords, schema names, table names and column names.
8.1.4 Result Grid

The results area of the screen shows the results from executed statements. If the script contains multiple
statements, a result subtab will be generated for each statemented that returned results. The following
figure shows a single subtab and highlights the main features of the result grid.
Note
MySQL Workbench handles quoting and escaping for strings entered into the result
grid, so adding quotes and proper escaping here is optional.
Note
It is possible to enter a function, or other expression, into a field. Use the prefix
\func to prevent MySQL Workbench from escaping quotation marks. For example,
for the expression md5('fred'), MySQL Workbench normally would generate
the code md5(\'fred\'). To prevent this, enter the expression as \func
md5('fred') to ensure that the quoting is not escaped.
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Result Grid
Figure 8.4 SQL Editor - Result Grid
Result Grid Toolbar
Elements of the result grid toolbar include:
• Reset: Resets all sorted columns.
• Refresh: Refreshes all data by re-executing the original statement.
• Filter Rows: performs a case-insensitive search of all cells. It automatically refreshes, and there is also
the refresh button to perform this action manually.
• Edit Current Row: Edit the current row.
• Add New Row: Adds a new empty row, and highlights it in edit mode. Click Apply to execute (and
review) the insert row query.
• Delete Selected Rows: Deletes the selected rows. Click Apply to execute (and review) the delete
query.
• Export: Writes a result set to a CSV, HTML, JSON, SQL INSERT, Excel, XML, or Tab separated file as
required.
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Result Grid
Note
This exports a result set. To export an entire table or schema, see Data Export.
• Import: Import records from an external CSV file.
• Wrap Cell Content: If the contents of a cell exceeds the cell width, then the data will be cut off with an
ellipses. This option will instead wrap the contents within the cell, and adjust the cell height accordingly.
Note
The "Refresh" button automatically adjusts the column width to match the longest
string one of its cells. You may also manually adjust the column width.
Result Grid Tab Menu
Right-click a result grid subtab to open the context menu, which appears in the figure that follows.
Figure 8.5 SQL Editor - Result Grid Context Menu
The result grid context menu includes:
• Rename Tab: Customize the name (title) of this tab.
• Pin Tab: Pin the results tab to the result grid. Executing additional SQL statements will create new result
grid tabs.
• Close Tab: Close this tab.
• Close Other Tabs: Close all tabs except this one.
Result Grid Field Menu
Right-click any field in the result grid to open the context menu for that field type. An example field with an
open menu is shown in the figure that follows.
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Result Grid
Figure 8.6 SQL Editor - Result Grid Field Menu
The result grid field-context menu includes:
• Open Value in Editor: Opens a new editor window that specializes in editing Binary and JSON data, but
can edit text.
• Show point in browser: Evaluates whether the field is a geometry point and then opens the point in a
browser using openstreetmap.org by default. An alternative online service can be configured (see
Section 3.2.7, “Other Preferences”). This option is available for columns with valid point-location types
only.
• Set Field to NULL: Sets the field value to NULL.
• Mark Field Value as a Function/Literal: Marks as a function, by prepending \func.
• Delete Row(s): Deletes the entire row.
• Load Value from File: Opens a file dialog to insert a value from a file. The entire file contents are
inserted into the field.
• Save Value to File: Saves the value of a field to a file.
• Copy Row: Copy the row in escaped CSV format, in a form such as: 'a', 'b','c'. Alternatively, there
is Copy Row (tab separated) to use tabs instead of commas as the separator, and Copy Row
(unquoted) to not escape the values.
• Copy Row (with names): Copy an escaped row like "Copy Row", but also adds a #comment containing
column names. Alternatively, there is Copy Row (with names, unquoted).
• Copy Field: Copies the field name, such as: 'a', or use Copy Field (unquoted) to not use single quotes.
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SQL Additions - Snippets Tab
• Paste Row: Pastes the row over the currently selected row.
• Capitalize Text: Capitalizes text in the current row, such as: Hello World.
• lowercase Text: Lowercases text in the current row, such as: hello world.
• UPPERCASE Text: Alters row to use all capitals, such as: HELLO WORLD.
8.1.5 SQL Additions - Snippets Tab

The Snippets secondary tab includes built-in, local, and shared custom snippets. The My Snippets option
stores custom snippets in a file under the MySQL Workbench user's configuration directory. Select the
Shared option for shared snippets.
Using Snippets
Snippets can be inserted into the SQL editor or the system's clipboard. To insert (use) a snippet, either use
the snippet icons or right-click on the desired snippet and choose Insert. The next figure shows the location
of the main action icons to use with snippets.
Figure 8.7 SQL Snippets: Usage
Local Snippets (My Snippets)

Local snippets are stored in the MySQL Workbench directory. By default, the My Snippets SQL snippets
are stored as indicated in the following table.
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SQL Additions - Snippets Tab
Table 8.1 Default Local Snippet File Location

Windows %AppData%\MySQL\Workbench\User Snippets.txt
macOS ~username/Library/Application Support/MySQL/Workbench/snippets/User
Snippets.txt
Linux ~username/.mysql/workbench/snippets/User Snippets.txt
Editing (or adding) snippets to My Snippets in MySQL Workbench edits this plain text file. Optionally, you
can edit this file outside of MySQL Workbench or create new files that will also be listed under the snippets
selector. For example, adding a file named "More Snippets.txt" will add a "More Snippets" section to the
snippets selection box.
Shared Snippets
Shared snippets are saved in a .mysqlworkbench schema on the connected MySQL server.
Selecting "Shared" for the first time will request permission for MySQL Workbench to create this shared
.mysqlworkbench schema. Users connected to this MySQL server are allowed to create, edit, and use
these shared snippets.
Note
Shared snippets were added in MySQL Workbench 6.2.0.
The .mysqlworkbench schema is hidden from within MySQL Workbench as it is considered an internal
schema that does not need to be seen or edited.
Built-in Snippets
Several built-in SQL snippets are bundled with MySQL Workbench, and typically show the SQL syntax for
MySQL operations. They are divided up into the following categories.
• DB Mgmt (Database Management): Syntax examples use SHOW in many forms to provide information
about databases, tables, columns, or status information about the MySQL server.
• SQL DDL (SQL Data Definition Language): Syntax examples include creating, altering, and dropping
tables, indexes, views, and procedures.
• SQL DML (SQL Data Manipulation Language): Syntax examples for operations such as SELECT,
INSERT, and REPLACE.
The built-in operations are stored in text files in the same directory as the custom snippet files.
Saving and Editing Snippets
To save a snippet, choose the Snippets Insert icon ( ) or right-click in the snippet window and choose
Add Snippet from Editor Content from the context-menu. Double-click a snippet to open it, and choose
the snippet editor to edit its body or title. The example in the following figure shows two snippets with only
the first having defined a name.
208
SQL Additions - Context Help Tab
Figure 8.8 SQL Snippets: Editor
8.1.6 SQL Additions - Context Help Tab

Within the visual SQL Editor, you can select a keyword or function in your query to open a help topic
describing its syntax and usage. The level of information is equivalent to typing help keyword at the
mysql prompt and the content is specific to the release series (5.6, 5.7, or 8.0) of the current MySQL
connection. Context help requires no MySQL connection to use because the context help is stored locally.
To view context help, first open the SQL Additions panel by clicking View, Panels, and then Show
Secondary Sidebar from the menu. Alternatively, you can click the panel shortcut ( ) from the toolbar.
This panel has two bottom tabs; select Context Help.
You have several options for displaying context help: automatic, manual, and most frequent list. Initially,
automatic context help is disabled.
Automatic context help. To enable automatic context help, click the automatic context button ( )
from the SQL Additions toolbar. As you click on or near different SQL keywords and functions in the editor,
the context help shifts to the specific topic.
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Output Panel
Manual context help. Manual context help is available when automatic context help is disabled. Click
on or near the SQL keyword in the editor and then click the manual context button ( ) from the SQL
Additions toolbar to view each new topic.
Most frequent list. Use the drop-down list to select a help topic for display. The set of SQL keywords in
this list is predefined. Most frequent keywords, when selected in the SQL editor, also display in the list box.
Less common keywords display Jump To in the list box when selected from the editor in either automatic
or manual mode.
The SQL Additions toolbar also includes forward and reverse arrows that enable you to browse recent
content help topics. The following figure shows an example in which automatic context help is enabled and
open. Note that when automatic context help is enabled, the manual context button is disabled.
Figure 8.9 SQL Editor: Context Help
8.1.7 Output Panel

The Output is located at the bottom of MySQL Workbench. Its select box includes the Action Output,
History Output, and Text Output options.
The Action Output panel displays a summary of the communication between the active MySQL
connection in MySQL Workbench and the MySQL server, and can refer to errors or general information.
Each message displays the time, action, and server response. The following figure shows this output,
which can be useful to troubleshoot a script.
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Output Panel
Figure 8.10 SQL Editor: Output: Action Output
The History Output panel provides a history of SQL operations carried out in MySQL Workbench for the
active MySQL connection. The time and SQL code for each operation is recorded. To view the executed
SQL statement, click the time, and the SQL code executed will be displayed in the SQL column, as the
following figure shows.
211
Table Data Search Tab
Figure 8.11 SQL Editor: History Output
8.1.8 Table Data Search Tab

Find data across a MySQL connection by using the text search feature on any number of tables and
schemas.
From the schema tree, select the tables, schemas, or both to search and then right-click the highlighted
items and click Search Data Table from the context menu. The following figure shows the options
available in the open Search secondary tab.
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Export or Import a Table
Figure 8.12 Table Search Example: Multiple Tables and Schemas
The search options include:
• Search for table fields that: "CONTAINS", "Search using =", "Search using LIKE", "Search using
REGEXP". These search options are case-insensitive.
• Max. matches per table: [100]
• Max. total matches: [1000]
• Search columns of all types check box: If checked, non-text column type columns are cast to CHAR
to perform the matches, otherwise only text types (CHAR, VARCHAR, and TEXT) are searched. This is
unchecked by default.
8.1.9 Export or Import a Table

Export or import tables using a wizard to assist you.
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MySQL Table Editor
Note
These wizards were added in MySQL Workbench 6.3.
Export a Table
Note
Alternatively, use Section 6.5, “Data Export and Import” to export larger sets of
data, such as entire tables and databases.
Import into Table
Note
Alternatively, use Section 6.5, “Data Export and Import” to export larger sets of
data, such as entire tables and databases.
8.1.10 MySQL Table Editor

The MySQL Table Editor is a used to create and modify tables. You can add or modify the columns or
indexes of a table, change the engine, add foreign keys, or alter the table name.
To access the MySQL Table Editor, right-click a table name in the Navigator area of the sidebar with the
Schemas secondary tab selected and click Alter Table. This action opens a new secondary tab within the
main SQL Editor window. You can also access the MySQL Table Editor from an EER Diagram by double-
clicking on a table object.
8.1.10.1 Main Editor Window
Any number of tables may be edited in the MySQL Table Editor at any one time. Adding another table
creates a new secondary tab at the top of the editor. By default, the MySQL Table Editor appears docked
at the top of the table editor tab, within the SQL editor.
The MySQL Table Editor for the customer table with the Columns subtab selected is shown in following
figure.
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MySQL Table Editor
Figure 8.13 The Table Editor
The MySQL Table Editor provides a work space that has subtabs used to perform these actions:
• Columns: Add or modify columns.
• Indexes: Add or modify indexes.
• Foreign Keys: Add or modify foreign keys.
• Triggers: Add or modify triggers.
• Partitioning: Manage partitioning of a table.
• Options: Add or modify other options, divided in categories named general, row, storage, and merge.
8.1.10.2 Columns Tab

Use the Columns subtab to display and edit all the column information for a table. With this subtab, you
can add, drop, and alter columns.
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MySQL Table Editor
You can also use the Columns subtab to change column properties such as name, data type, and default
value. The following figure shows an example of the Columns subtab.
Figure 8.14 The Columns Tab
Right-click a row under the Column Name column to open a pop-up menu with the following items:
• Move Up: Move the selected column up.
• Move Down: Move the selected column down.
• Copy: Copies the column for a model.
• Cut: Copies and then deletes the column for a model.
• Paste: Pastes the column. If a column with the same name already exists, then _copy1 is appended to
the column name.
• Delete Selected Columns: Select multiple contiguous columns by right-clicking and pressing the Shift
key. Use the Control key to select separated columns.
• Refresh: Update all information in the Columns subtab.
• Clear Default: Clear the assigned default value.
• Default NULL: Set the column default value to NULL.
• Default 0: Set the column default value to 0.
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MySQL Table Editor
• Default CURRENT_TIMESTAMP: Available for TIMESTAMP data types.
• Default CURRENT_TIMESTAMP ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP: Available for TIMESTAMP

data types.
To add a column, click the Column Name field in an empty row and enter an appropriate value. Select a
data type from the Datatype list. Select the column property check boxes as required according to the list
of column properties that follow. For a description of each item, see CREATE TABLE.
• PK: PRIMARY KEY
• NN: NOT NULL
• UQ: UNIQUE INDEX
• BIN: BINARY
• UN: UNSIGNED
• ZF: ZEROFILL
• AI: AUTO_INCREMENT
• G: Generated Column
This option is available as of MySQL Server 5.7.
To change the name, data type, default value, or comment of a column, double-click the value to edit it.
You can also add column comments to the Column Comment field. It is also possible to set the column
collation, using the list in the Column Details panel.
To the left of the column name is an icon that indicates whether the column is a member of the primary
key. If the icon is a small key, that column belongs to the primary key, otherwise the icon is a blue diamond
or a white diamond. A blue diamond indicates the column has NN set. To add or remove a column from the
primary key, double-click the icon. You can also add a primary key by checking the PRIMARY KEY check
box in the Column Details section of the table editor.
If you wish to create a composite primary key you can select multiple columns and check the PK check
box. However, there is an additional step that is required, you must click the Indexes tab, then in the Index
Columns panel you must set the desired order of the primary keys.
Note
When entering default values, in the case of CHAR and VARCHAR data types MySQL
Workbench will attempt to automatically add quotation marks, if the user does not
start their entry with one. For other data types the user must manage quoting if
required, as it will not be handled automatically by MySQL Workbench.
Caution
Care must be taken when entering a default value for ENUM columns because
a non-numeric default will not be automatically quoted. You must manually add
single quote characters for the default value. Note that MySQL Workbench will not
prevent you from entering the default value without the single quotation marks.
If a non-numeric default value is entered without quotation marks, this will lead
217
MySQL Table Editor
to errors. For example, if the model is reverse engineered, the script will contain
unquoted default values for ENUM columns and will fail if an attempt is made to run
the script on MySQL Server.
Note
ENUM, BIT, and SET must contain at least one value when entering these data
types into MySQL Workbench.
8.1.10.3 Indexes Tab
The Indexes subtab contains all of the index information for your table. Use this subtab to add, drop,
and modify indexes. The following figure shows an example of the layout with the PRIMARY index of the
customer table selected and both the index columns and index options shown.
Figure 8.15 The Indexes Tab
All indexes for a table are listed by index name. Click an index name to display the Index Columns section
with information about the selected index. In addition, you can configure the storage type, key block size,
parser, and the visibility of the index. Index comments, when added, apply to the selected index only.
The actions available from this subtab include:
• To add an index, click the last row in the index list. Enter a name for the index and select the index type
from the list. Select the column or columns that you wish to index by checking the column name in the
Index Columns list. You can remove a column from the index by removing the check mark from the
appropriate column.
• To specify the order of a column within an index, select ASC or DESC from the Order column. Create an
index prefix by specifying a numeric value under the Length column. You cannot enter a prefix value for
fields that have a data type that does not support prefixing.
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MySQL Table Editor
• To render a secondary index (an index other than the primary key or a unique column) invisible to the
optimizer, deselect the Visible option. By default, all indexes are visible. This feature must be supported
by the active server; otherwise, the Visible check box is grayed out. For a description of the usage
patterns for this option, see Invisible Indexes.
• To drop an index, right-click the index name and then click the Delete Selected menu item.
8.1.10.4 Foreign Keys Tab

The Foreign Keys subtab is organized in much the same fashion as the Indexes subtab and adding or
editing a foreign key is similar to adding or editing an index. The following figure shows an example of the
Foreign Keys tab.
Figure 8.16 The Foreign Keys Tab
To add a foreign key, click the last row in the Foreign Key Name list. Enter a name for the foreign key
and select the column or columns that you wish to index by checking the column name in the Column list.
You can remove a column from the index by removing the check mark from the appropriate column.
Under Foreign Key Options, choose an action for the update and delete events. The options are:
• RESTRICT
• CASCADE
• SET NULL
219
MySQL Table Editor
• NO ACTION
To drop a foreign key, right-click the row you wish to delete, then select the Delete Selected FKs menu
item.
To modify properties of a foreign key, select it and make the desired changes.
8.1.10.5 Triggers Tab
The Triggers subtab opens a workspace that enables you to create new triggers or edit existing triggers.
All triggers are organized within a tree structure by section, such as BEFORE INSERT and AFTER
INSERT.
To add a new trigger, click the [+] icon next to the trigger section. To delete a trigger, click the associated
[-] icon. These icons become visible by hovering over a trigger or trigger section. Click Apply to commit
your changes. The next figure shows an example of the customer_create_date trigger.
Figure 8.17 The Triggers Tab
8.1.10.6 Partitioning Tab
To enable partitioning for your table, check the Enable Partitioning check box. This enables the
partitioning options (shown in the figure that follows).
220
MySQL Table Editor
Figure 8.18 The Partitioning Tab
The Partition By pop-up menu displays the types of partitions you can create:
• HASH
• LINEAR HASH
• KEY
• LINEAR KEY
• RANGE
• LIST
Use the Parameters field to define any parameters to be supplied to the partitioning function, such as an
integer column value.
Choose the number of partitions from the Partition Count list. To manually configure your partitions, check
the Manual check box. This enables entry of values into the partition configuration table. The entries in this
table are:
• Partition
• Values
• Data Directory
• Index Directory
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MySQL Table Editor
• Min Rows
• Max Rows
• Comment
Subpartitioning is also available. For more information about partitioning, see Partitioning.
8.1.10.7 Options Tab

The Options subtab enables you to set several types of options. The next figure shows an example of this
tab.
Figure 8.19 The Options Tab
Table options are grouped into the following sections:
• General Options
• Row Options
• Storage Options
• Merge Table Options
The following sections describe these options in more detail.
222
Code Generation Overview
General Options Section

In the General Options section, choose a pack keys option. The options are Default, Pack None, and
Pack All. You may also encrypt the definition of a table. The AUTO_INCREMENT and delayed key update
behaviors apply only to MyISAM tables.
Row Options Section

To set the row format, choose the desired row format from the list. For more information about the different
row formats that are available, see MyISAM Table Storage Formats.
These options are:
• Default
• Dynamic
• Fixed
• Compressed
• Redundant
• Compact
When you expect a table to be particularly large, use the Avg. Row, Min. Rows, and Max. Rows options
to enable the MySQL server to better accommodate your data. See CREATE TABLE Statement for more
information on how to use these options.
Storage Options Section

The Storage Options section is available only for MyISAM tables. Use it to configure a custom path to
the table storage and data files. This can help improve server performance by locating different tables on
different hard drives.
Merge Table Options Section

Use the Merge Table Options section to configure MERGE tables. To create a MERGE table, select MERGE
as your storage engine and then specify the MyISAM tables you wish to merge in the Union Tables dialog.
You may specify the action the server should take when users attempt to perform INSERT statements on
the merge table. You may also select the Merge Method by selecting from the list. For more information
about MERGE tables, see The MERGE Storage Engine.
8.1.11 Code Generation Overview

This document provides a quick hands-on introduction to using MySQL Workbench to generate code for
later use, for either in or outside of MySQL Workbench.
8.1.11.1 Generating SQL Statements

MySQL Workbench can be used to generate SQL, most typically as either INSERT statements or SELECT
statements.
The following common methods are for generating SQL statements in MySQL Workbench.
Note
All of the MySQL Workbench Export options include the option to export as SQL.
223
Context-menu options after right-clicking on a schema in the schema view, using the sakila column as
an example.
Create Statement
CREATE DATABASE `sakila` /*!40100 DEFAULT CHARACTER SET latin1 */;
Name
`sakila`
Context-menu options after right-clicking on a table in the schema view, using the sakila.actor
column as an example:
Name (Short)
àctor`
Name (Long)
`sakila`.àctor`
Select All Statement
SELECT àctor`.àctor_id`,
àctor`.`first_name`,
àctor`.`last_name`,
àctor`.`last_update`
FROM `sakila`.àctor`;
Select with References
SET @actor_id_to_select = <{row_id}>;

SELECT film_actor.*
FROM film_actor, actor
WHERE àctor`.àctor_id` = `film_actor`.àctor_id`
AND actor.actor_id = @actor_id_to_select;
SELECT actor.*
FROM actor
WHERE actor.actor_id = @actor_id_to_select;
Insert Statement
INSERT INTO `sakila`.àctor`

(àctor_id`,
`first_name`,
`last_name`,
`last_update`)
VALUES
(<{actor_id: }>,
<{first_name: }>,
<{last_name: }>,
<{last_update: CURRENT_TIMESTAMP}>);
224
Update Statement
UPDATE `sakila`.àctor`
SET
àctor_id` = <{actor_id: }>,
`first_name` = <{first_name: }>,
`last_name` = <{last_name: }>,
`last_update` = <{last_update: CURRENT_TIMESTAMP}>
WHERE àctor_id` = <{expr}>;
Delete Statement
DELETE FROM `sakila`.àctor`

WHERE <{where_expression}>;
Delete with References
-- All objects that reference that row (directly or indirectly)

-- will be deleted when this snippet is executed.
-- To preview the rows to be deleted, use Select Row Dependencies
START TRANSACTION;
-- Provide the values of the primary key of the row to delete.
SET @actor_id_to_delete = <{row_id}>;
DELETE FROM film_actor

USING film_actor, actor
WHERE àctor`.àctor_id` = `film_actor`.àctor_id`
AND actor.actor_id = @actor_id_to_delete;
DELETE FROM actor
USING actor
WHERE actor.actor_id = @actor_id_to_delete;
COMMIT;
Create Statement
CREATE TABLE àctor` (

àctor_id` smallint(5) unsigned NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
`first_name` varchar(45) NOT NULL,
`last_name` varchar(45) NOT NULL,
`last_update` timestamp NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
PRIMARY KEY (àctor_id`),
KEY ìdx_actor_last_name` (`last_name`)
) ENGINE=InnoDB AUTO_INCREMENT=201 DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8;
Context-menu options after right-clicking on a column in the schema view, using the
sakila.actor.first_name column as an example:
Name (short)
`first_name`
Name (long)
225
àctor`.`first_name`
Select Columns Statement
SELECT `first_name` FROM `sakila`.àctor`;
Insert Statement
INSERT INTO `sakila`.àctor`

(`first_name`)
VALUES
(<{first_name}>);
Update Statement
UPDATE `sakila`.àctor`
SET
`first_name` = <{first_name}>
WHERE <{where_expression}>;
Context-menu options after right-clicking on a field in the results view, using record #1 in the
sakila.actor table as an example:
Copy Rows (with names)
# actor_id, first_name, last_name, last_update

'1', 'PENELOPE', 'GUINESS', '2006-02-15 04:34:33'
Copy Rows (with names, unquoted)
# actor_id, first_name, last_name, last_update

1, PENELOPE, GUINESS, 2006-02-15 04:34:33
Copy Row (tab separated)
1 PENELOPE GUINESS 2006-02-15 04:34:33
Copy Field
'GUINESS'
8.1.11.2 Generating PHP Code

MySQL Workbench can be used to generate PHP code with the bundled PHP plugin, by using the Tools,
Utilities, Copy as PHP Code menu option.
The example scenario that follows demonstrates how to create PHP code. It is a SELECT statement, and
optionally uses SET to set variables.
226
SQL @variables generate PHP variables in the code that then bind to the statement before execution.
1. Generate or type in the desired SQL query into the SQL editor. This example will use the sakila
database, with the query being:
SET @last_update = '2006-02-14';
SELECT actor_id, first_name, last_name, last_update

FROM actor
WHERE last_update > @last_update;
2. While in the SQL editor, choose Tools, Utilities, Copy as PHP Code (Iterate SELECT Results) from
the main menu. This will copy PHP code to the clipboard.
3. Paste the code to the desired location.
Additionally, PHP code that connects to the MySQL database can also be generated by choosing Tools,
Utilities, Copy as PHP Code (Connect to Server).
After combining the two, the generated PHP code will look like this:
<?php
$host = "localhost";
$port = 3306;
$socket = "";
$user = "nobody";
$password = "";
$dbname = "sakila";
$con = new mysqli($host, $user, $password, $dbname, $port, $socket)

or die ('Could not connect to the database server' . mysqli_connect_error());
//$con->close();
$query = "SELECT actor_id, first_name, last_name, last_update

FROM actor
WHERE last_update > ?";
$last_update = '';
$stmt->bind_param('s', $last_update);
if ($stmt = $con->prepare($query)) {
$stmt->execute();
$stmt->bind_result($actor_id, $first_name, $last_name, $last_update);
while ($stmt->fetch()) {
// printf("%s, %s, %s, %s\n",
// $actor_id, $first_name, $last_name, $last_update);
}
$stmt->close();
}
?>
Note
The generated PHP code uses the mysqli PHP extension for MySQL. This
extension must be enabled in your PHP distribution for this code to work. For
additional details about this PHP extension, see MySQL Improved Extension.
227
Object Management
8.2 Object Management

The Object Browser allows you to navigate database schemas and objects. From here, you can perform
common tasks such as selecting tables and fields to query, edit tables, create new or drop tables and
databases, perform searches, and more.
8.2.1 Object Browser and Editor Navigator

The Navigator area of the sidebar contains options to manage the active MySQL connection. It also lists
the schemas on the server for that connection. To access the Navigator area, open an existing connection
(or create a new connection) from the home screen. If the panel is not visible, click View, Panels, and then
Show Sidebar.
Navigator Schemas Tab

The Schemas tab shows available schema on the currently connected server. These items can be
explored to show tables, views, and routines within the schema as the following figure shows.
Note
Internal schemas, such as performance_schema, information_schema, and

mysql, are hidden by default. Select the Show Metadata and Internal Schemas
preference (see Preferences: SQL Editor: Main) to list them in the object browser.
Schemas beginning with the period character (.) are also controlled by this setting.
Figure 8.20 SQL Editor - Navigator Schemas Tab
Schema context menu. Right-click any schema object to show the context menu. Right-clicking
on a schema provides similar options to the table context menu (see Table, view, and column context
menus), but the operations refer to the schema. For example, the Table Maintenance item in the table
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Object Browser and Editor Navigator
context menu opens the Schema Inspector, which is a schema context menu item, but it is populated with
information about the selected table.
• Load Spatial Data: Imports a shapefile (.shp) containing spatial data to load into MySQL. A new table
with the imported fields is created in the selected schema, unless you select the append or update
(overwrite) option. Another option creates a spatial index. If enabled, the import operation makes a
spatial index around the geometry column. You can import spatial data with or without an EPSG format
conversion.
• Set as Default Schema: Sets the selected schema as the default schema. This executes a USE
schema_name statement so that subsequent statements without schema qualifiers are executed against
this schema. This setting applies only to the query session. To set a default schema for multiple MySQL
Workbench sessions, you must set the default schema for the stored connection. From the home screen,
right-click on a MySQL connection, choose Edit Connection, and set the desired default schema on the
Default Schema box.
Note
The selected schema is displayed as bold in the schema navigator.
• Filter to This Schema: Enables you to target specific schemas in the list.
• Schema Inspector: Displays information about the selected schema. For additional information, see
Schema Inspector.
• Table Data Import Wizard: Opens the wizard.
• Copy to Clipboard: Copies the schema name or a CREATE statement to the clipboard.
• Send to SQL Editor: Provides functionality similar to Copy to Clipboard. However, this item inserts the
SQL code directly into the SQL Query panel, where it can be edited further as required.
• Create Schema: Launches a dialog to enable you to create a new schema.
• Alter Schema: Launches a dialog to enable you to change the name or character/collation of an existing
schema.
• Drop Schema: Drops the schema. All data is lost if this operation is carried out.
• Search Table Data: Opens a new tab for performing table searches. It performs a search on all
columns, and offers additional options to limit the search.
• Refresh All: Refreshes all objects in the schema tree by resynchronizing with the server.
Double-clicking a table, view, or column name in the schema explorer inserts the name into the SQL Query
area. This reduces typing significantly when entering SQL statements containing references to several
tables, views, or columns.
Table, view, and column context menus. The schema navigator also features a context menu,
which can be displayed by right-clicking a table, view, or column object. For example, right-clicking a table
displays the following menu items:
• Select Rows - Limit 200: Pulls up to 200 rows of table data from the live server into a Results tab, and
enables editing. Data can be saved directly to the live server.
• Table Inspector: Displays table information, similar to the Schema Inspector. This also has a simpler
and easier to use interface for analyzing and creating indexes for tables.
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Object Browser and Editor Navigator
• Copy to Clipboard: There are various submenus, each of which copies information to the clipboard.
• Name (short): Copies the table name.
• Name (long): Copies the qualified table name in the form `schema`.`table`.
• Select All Statement: Copies a statement to select all columns in this form.
SELECT
`table`.`column1`,
`table`.`column2`,
...
FROM `schema`.`table`;
• Insert Statement: Copies an INSERT statement to insert all columns.
• Update Statement: Copies an UPDATE statement to update all columns.
• Delete Statement: Copies a DELETE statement in the form DELETE FROM `world`.`country`
WHERE <{where_condition}>;.
• Create Statement: Copies a CREATE statement in the form DELETE FROM `world`.`country`
WHERE <{where_condition}>;.
• Join Select Tables: Joins the selected tables.
• Delete with References: Copies a DELETE statement, in the form of a transaction, that deletes all
objects that reference the row (directly or indirectly).
Use Select with References first to preview this operation.
• Select Row References: Copies a SELECT statement that selects all objects that reference the row
(directly or indirectly).
Use Delete with References to generate a DELETE statement for this operation.
• Table Data Export Wizard: Opens the table export wizard to export the table's data to JSON or
customized CSV.
• Table Data Import Wizard: Opens the table import wizard to import JSON or CSV formatted data to the
selected or new table.
• Send to SQL Editor: Provides functionality similar to Copy to Clipboard. However, this item inserts the
SQL code directly into the SQL Query panel, where it can be edited further as required.
• Create Table: Launches a dialog to enable you to create a new table.
• Create Table Like: Launches a dialog to enable you to create a new table, and to also apply predefined
templates. For additional information, see Section 9.6, “Table Templates”.
• Alter Table: Displays the table editor loaded with the details of the table.
• Table Maintenance: Opens a new tab for performing table maintenance operations. Operations include
"Analyze Table", "Optimize Table", "Check Table", and "Checksum Table". Additional information about
the table may also be viewed from this tab. For additional information, see Schema Inspector.
• Drop Table: Drops the table. All data in the table will be lost if this operation is carried out.
• Truncate Table: Truncates the table.
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Session and Object Information Panel
• Search Table Data: Opens a new tab for performing table searches. It performs a search on all
columns, and offers additional options to limit the search.
• Refresh All: Refreshes all objects in the schema tree by resynchronizing with the server.
8.2.2 Session and Object Information Panel

The Session tab of the Information panel summarizes the current connection to the server, as the
Figure 8.21 SQL Editor - Connection Information Palette
The Object Info tab of the Information panel summarizes information about a specific object, such as a
table. The following figure shows an example of object information.
Figure 8.22 SQL Editor - Object Info
8.2.3 Schema and Table Inspector

The Schema Inspector and Table Inspector each include the ability to analyze and repair tables, and also
view table metrics.
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Schema and Table Inspector
Schema Inspector
Use the Schema Inspector to browse general information from schema objects (shown in the figure that
follows). It allows you to perform maintenance tasks on tables such as ANALYZE, OPTIMIZE, CHECK, and
CHECKSUM TABLE. To access the inspector, right-click a schema and select the Schema Inspector.
Figure 8.23 Schema Inspector
Each tab lists topic-oriented information in categories, such as tables, indexes, and triggers. From
the Tables tab, click Inspect Table to open the Table Inspector, or Maintenance to open the table
maintenance tools (shown in the figure that follows).
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Figure 8.24 Schema Inspector: Table Maintenance
Table Inspector
You can use the Table Inspector to view table information, which is similar to the Schema Inspector. The
Table Inspector includes an easy-to-use interface for analyzing and creating indexes for your tables. To
open, right-click a table in the object browser of the Navigator pane and choose Table Inspector from the
context menu.
The Table Inspector shows information related to the table. The next figure shows an example using the
sakila.actor table.
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Figure 8.25 Table Inspector: Info Tab
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Chapter 9 Database Design and Modeling
Table of Contents
9.1 Modeling Interface .................................................................................................................... 236
9.1.1 Model Editor .................................................................................................................. 237
9.1.2 EER Diagram Editor ....................................................................................................... 252
9.1.3 Creating Tables ............................................................................................................. 259
9.1.4 Creating Foreign Key Relationships ................................................................................ 261
9.1.5 Creating Views .............................................................................................................. 265
9.1.6 Creating Routines and Routine Groups ........................................................................... 267
9.1.7 Creating Layers ............................................................................................................. 271
9.1.8 Creating Notes ............................................................................................................... 273
9.1.9 Creating Text Objects .................................................................................................... 274
9.1.10 Creating Images ........................................................................................................... 275
9.2 Additional Modeling Tools ......................................................................................................... 276
9.2.1 Printing Diagrams .......................................................................................................... 276
9.2.2 DBDoc Model Reporting ................................................................................................. 276
9.2.3 Schema Validation Plugins ............................................................................................. 280
9.3 Modeling Tutorials .................................................................................................................... 283
9.3.1 Creating a Model ........................................................................................................... 283
9.3.2 Basic Modeling .............................................................................................................. 289
9.3.3 Importing a Data Definition SQL Script ............................................................................ 291
9.3.4 Using the Default Schema .............................................................................................. 293
9.3.5 Documenting the sakila Database ................................................................................... 296
9.4 Forward and Reverse Engineering ............................................................................................ 298
9.4.1 Forward Engineering ...................................................................................................... 298
9.4.2 Reverse Engineering ...................................................................................................... 308
9.5 Schema Synchronization and Comparison ................................................................................. 318
9.5.1 Database Synchronization .............................................................................................. 318
9.5.2 Compare and Report Differences in Catalogs .................................................................. 324
9.6 Table Templates ....................................................................................................................... 326
9.7 Customizing DBDoc Model Reporting Templates ........................................................................ 329
9.7.1 Supported Template Markers .......................................................................................... 332
9.7.2 Creating a Custom Template .......................................................................................... 336
Modeling simplifies database design and maintenance by enabling you, the data architect, to visualize
requirements and resolve design issues. Model-driven database design is an efficient methodology for
creating valid and well-performing databases, while providing the flexibility to respond to evolving data
requirements. Models are used to build EER diagrams and physical MySQL databases.
MySQL Workbench provides extensive capabilities for creating and manipulating database models,
including these:
• Create and manipulate a model graphically.
• Reverse engineer a live database to a model.
• Forward engineer a model to a script or live database.
• Create and edit tables and insert data.
This is not an exhaustive list. The following sections describe these and additional data-modeling
capabilities.
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Modeling Interface
9.1 Modeling Interface

MySQL Workbench represents each active data model as an icon in the models view of the home screen
tab. The following figure shows the sakila_full and world database models. Both models derive from
MySQL database samples (see https://dev.mysql.com/doc/index-other.html), which you can download and
use to explore the MySQL Workbench modeling interface.
Figure 9.1 Data Models on the Home Screen
The sakila database sample includes a model file (sakila.mwb) in the product package. After you
set up the database using the instructions provided on the download page, MySQL Workbench adds the
sakila_full icon to the models view automatically. For all of the other database samples, such as world
or employee data, you must create the MySQL Workbench (.mwb) file first before you can view the
database objects in a model or add an EER diagram for it.
To create a MySQL Workbench model file for MySQL database samples:
1. Download the MySQL database you intend to use as a model. Each database has a setup guide (see
https://dev.mysql.com/doc/index-other.html).
2.
Start MySQL Workbench and select the models view ( ) from the side panel of the home screen
tab.
3. Click the arrow icon and select Create EER Model from Database as shown in the figure that follows.
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Model Editor
Figure 9.2 Create EER Model from Database
A wizard-like dialog presents the following steps: Connection Options, Connect to DBMS, Select
Schemas, Retrieve Objects, Select Objects, Reverse Engineer, and Results. Click Show Logs to assist
with the operations.
4. Modify the default values as needed, select a schema (and objects), and then click Finish to close the
wizard. MySQL Workbench adds an icon for each model you create.
Modeling concepts and interface elements are described in the next sections.
9.1.1 Model Editor

When the Model Editor is executed from the home screen, MySQL Workbench displays the MySQL Model
tab. The MySQL Model page has three main panels, as shown in the following figure.
Figure 9.3 The MySQL Model Page
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Model Editor
The Description Editor and User Types List (with the User Types and History secondary tabs) are
contained within the sidebar.
The Model Overview panel includes the following sections:
• EER Diagrams
• Physical Schemas
• Schema Privileges
• SQL Scripts
• Model Notes
For each of these sections, add objects to a project by clicking the appropriate add-object icon. You may
also rename, edit, cut, copy, or delete objects on this page by right-clicking to open a context menu.
The following sections further discuss the MySQL Model page.
9.1.1.1 Modeling Menus

Some menu items are not available in the MySQL Workbench Community Edition of this application, and
are available only in the MySQL Workbench Commercial Editions. This is indicated where applicable.
The File Menu
Use the File menu to open a project, begin a new project, or save a project. The following submenu items
apply to the active model tab, EER diagram tab, or both:
• New Model: Opens a new MySQL Model tab and closes the tabs of a previously opened model and
diagram. The new MySQL Model tab includes an initial schema named mydb by default. You can
rename or remove (and replace) the initial mydb schema. For additional information, see Section 9.1.1.4,
“The Physical Schemas Panel”.
• Open Model: Opens a file-selection window with the default file type set to MySQL Workbench (.mwb
file extension). To display a list of recently opened .mwb files, select Open Recent.
• Include Model: Adds the database objects defined within an existing model file to the active MySQL
model and to its diagram, if applicable. This operation also adds a separate diagram icon containing the
included objects only to the active model.
• Open Recent: Displays the file path of each model file opened previously. Selecting a file from the list
closes the tabs of an open model.
• Close Tab: If selected when the MySQL Model tab is shown, the action closes both the MySQL
Model and EER Diagram tabs. However, if the EER Diagram tab is shown, this action closes the EER
Diagram tab only. To reopen an EER Diagram tab, double-click the EER Diagram icon in the Model
Overview section of the MySQL Model tab.
• Save Model or Save Model As: When you save a model, its name appears in the title bar of the
application. If you have made changes to a project and have not saved those changes, an asterisk
appears in the title bar following the model name. When you save a model, it is saved as a MySQL
Workbench file with the .mwb extension.
• Import: Imports a MySQL data definition (DDL) script file. For example, this might be a file created by
issuing the command mysqldump --no-data. MySQL Workbench handles the script as follows:
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Model Editor
• If the script does not contain a CREATE DATABASE db_name; statement, the schema objects are
copied to the initial schema, named mydb by default.
• If the script creates a database, a new tab bearing the database name is added to the Physical
Schemas section of the MySQL Model page.
• If the script contains data, the data is ignored.
For details about importing a DDL script, see Section 9.4.2.1, “Reverse Engineering Using a Create
Script”.
• Export: Generates the SQL statements necessary to create a new database or alter an existing one.
For more information about these menu items, see Section 9.4.1.1, “Forward Engineering Using an SQL
Script”. Use the Export submenu items to export an EER diagram as a PNG, SVG, PDF, or Postscript
file. For an example of a PNG file, see Figure 9.32, “The sakila Database EER Diagram”.
• Page Setup: Enables you to set the paper size, orientation, and margins for printing purposes. This item
is enabled only if the EER Diagrams tab is selected.
• Print Preview: Opens a print preview window for the active EER diagram. This item is enabled only if
the EER Diagrams tab is selected. For more information, see Section 9.2.1, “Printing Diagrams”.
• Print: Opens print window for the active EER diagram. This item is enabled only if the EER Diagrams
tab is selected. For more information, see Section 9.2.1, “Printing Diagrams”.
• Print to File: Prints the diagram (or diagrams) associated with the active model as a PDF or Postscript
file. If your model has multiple diagrams, you can deselect one or more to exclude them from the file, but
you must include at least one diagram in the file.
• Document Properties: Sets the following properties of your project:
• Name: The model document name (default is MySQL Model).
• Version: The project version number.
• Author: The project author.
• Project: The project name.
• Created: Not editable; determined by the MWB file attributes.
• Last Changed: Not editable; determined by the MWB file attributes.
• Description: A description of your project.
• Exit: Prompts you to save the current changes and then closes MySQL Workbench.
The Edit Menu
Use the Edit menu to make changes to objects. The menu item text descriptions change to reflect the
name of the selected object.
This menu has items for cutting, copying, and pasting. These actions can also be performed using the
Control+X, Control+C, and Control+V key combinations. Undo a deletion using the Undo Delete
'object_name' item. The Control+Z key combination can also be used to undo an operation. It is also
possible to carry out a Redo operation using either the menu item, or the key combination Control+Y.
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Model Editor
Also find a Delete 'object_name' menu item for removing the currently selected object. The keyboard
command for this action is Control+Delete. You can also right-click an object and choose the delete option
from the pop-up menu.
The Delete 'object_name' menu item behaves differently depending upon circumstances. For example,
if an EER Diagram is active and a table on the canvas is the currently selected object, a dialog box may
open asking whether you want to remove the table from the canvas only or from the database as well. For
information about setting the default behavior when deleting from an EER Diagram, see Section 3.2.4,
“Modeling Preferences”.
Warning
If the MySQL Model page is active, the selected object is deleted from the catalog
and there will be no confirmation dialog box.
Choose Edit Selected to edit the currently selected object. You can also perform edits in a new window by
selecting Edit Selected in New Window. The keyboard shortcuts for Edit Selected and Edit Selected in
New Window are Control+E and Control+Shift+E, respectively.
The Select item has the following submenus:
• Select All (Keyboard shortcut, Control+A): Selects all the objects on the active EER diagram.
• Similar Figures (Objects of the same type): Finds objects similar to the currently selected object.
• Connected Figures: Finds all the objects connected to the currently selected object.
These menu items are active only when an EER Diagram tab is selected. The Similar Figures and the
Connected Figures menu items are disabled if no object is currently selected on an EER diagram.
When multiple objects have been selected using one of these menu items, you can navigate between
selected items by choosing the Go to Next Selected or Go to previous Selected menu item.
Selecting objects changes some of the Edit menu items. If only one object is selected, that object's name
appears after the Cut, Copy and Delete menu items. If more than one object is selected, these menu
items show the number of objects selected.
Find Dialog Window
Each MySQL Workbench window includes search functionality. The Find panel with Find & Replace
enabled is shown in the following figure.
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Model Editor
Figure 9.4 The Find Panel with Find & Replace
Find Options
The Find dialog options are described in the following list:
• String Matching (default) or Regular Expression: Search by matching a string, or a PCRE regular
expression.
• Ignore Case: A case-insensitive search. Works with both the String Matching and Regular
Expression search methods. Enabled by default.
• Match Whole Words: If enabled, only whole strings are matched. For example, a search for "home"
would not match "home_id". Disabled by default.
• Wrap Around: The search will wrap around to the beginning of the document, as otherwise it will only
search from the cursor position to the end of the document. Enabled by default.
• And the arrows jump to the discovered search terms, and behave according to the Wrap Around option.
The MySQL Workbench Commercial Editions include an advanced Find facility for models, as indicated in
the figure that follows.
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Model Editor
Figure 9.5 The Find Window
You can search the following locations:
• Entire Model: Searches the entire model.
• Current View: Searches the current view only. This may be the MySQL Model page.
• All Views: Searches the MySQL Model Page and all EER diagrams.
• Database Objects: Searches database objects only.
• Selected Figures: Searches the currently selected objects. This feature works only for EER diagrams.
Enter the text you wish to search for in the Find Text list. You may also select any or all of the following
check boxes:
• Match Case
• Whole Word
• Use Regular Expression
• Search in Comments
• Search in SQL for Views, SPs etc.
Any text you enter into the Find Text list is retained for the duration of your session. Use the Next or
Previous buttons to find occurrences of your search criterion.
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Model Editor
Clicking the Find All button opens a Find Results window anchored at the bottom of the application. If you
wish, you may undock this window as you would any other.
Use this window to navigate to objects. For example, double-clicking the Description of an object
located on an EER diagram navigates to the specific diagram and selects the object. Notice that the
properties of the object are displayed in the Properties palette.
The Find dialog window can also be opened using the Control+F key combination. Use Control+G to find
the next occurrence and Control+Shift+G to find a previous occurrence. Close the Find dialog window by
clicking the x in the top right corner or by pressing the Esc key.
Workbench Preferences
This menu item enables you to set global preferences for the MySQL Workbench application.
For further information, see Section 3.2, “Workbench Preferences”.
The View Menu

This context-aware menu features general options for changing the view in MySQL Workbench. These
options change depending on the current tab, and here are the available View menu items:
General options:
• Home: Selects the home screen.
• Panels: Configure which of the three available panels are open. You may also manage this from the GUI
using the panel toggle buttons on the top-right side of MySQL Workbench.
• Output: Displays the console output.
• Select Next Main Tab: Selects the next (moves to the right, and wraps around) MySQL Workbench tab.
• Select Next Main Tab: Selects the previous (moves to the left, and wraps around) MySQL Workbench
tab.
Model/EER options:
• Windows: A submenu with items that activate (slide open) specific panels. Designated panels include
the "Model Navigator", "Catalog", "Layers", "User Datatypes", "Object Descriptions", "Object Properties",
and "Undo History".
• Zoom 100%: The default level of detail of an EER diagram.
• Zoom In: Zooms in on an EER diagram.
• Zoom Out: Zooms out from an EER diagram.
The ability to zoom in on an EER diagram is also available using the slider tool in the Model
Navigator palette. See Section 9.1.2.2, “The Model Navigator Panel”.
• Set Marker: Bookmarks an object. From the keyboard, select the object you wish to bookmark, then use
the key combination Control+Shift and the number of the marker (1 through 9). You may create up to
nine markers.
• Go To Marker: Returns to a marker. From the keyboard, use the Control key and the number of the
marker.
• Toggle Grid: Displays grid lines on an EER diagram.
• Toggle Page Guides: Toggles Page Guides to help design the EER diagram on a per-page basis.
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Model Editor
The Arrange Menu

The Arrange menu items apply only to objects on an EER diagram canvas and are enabled only if an EER
diagram view is active. The Arrange menu has these items:
• Align to Grid: Aligns items on the canvas to the grid lines
• Bring to Front: Brings objects to the foreground
• Send to Back: Sends objects to the background
• Center Diagram Contents: Centers objects on the canvas
• Autolayout: Automatically arranges objects on the canvas
• Reset Object Size: Expands an object on an EER diagram. For example, if a table has a long column
name that is not fully displayed, this menu item expands the table to make the column visible. This menu
item is not enabled unless an object is selected.
• Expand All: Use this item to expand all objects on an EER diagram. This item will display a table's
columns if the object notation supports expansion. Some object notations, such as Classic, do not
permit expansion or contraction. Indexes will not automatically be expanded unless they were previously
expanded and have been collapsed using the Collapse All menu item.
• Collapse All: Undo the operation performed by Expand All.
The Model Menu

When a model is opened, this menu features actions to perform against your model, and the Model menu
has these items:
• Add Diagram: Creates a new EER Diagram. The keyboard shortcut is Control+T.
• Create Diagram From Catalog Objects: Creates an EER diagram from all the objects in the catalog.
• User Defined Types: Presents a dialog box that enables you to add and delete user defined data types.
• DBDoc – Model Reporting...: For information about this menu item, see The DBDoc Model Reporting
Dialog Window (MySQL Workbench Commercial). MySQL Workbench Commercial only.
• Validation: Checks the validity of the model using ANSI standards. For information about this menu
item, see The Validation Submenus (MySQL Workbench Commercial). MySQL Workbench Commercial
only.
• Validation (MySQL): Checks the validity of the model using MySQL standards. For information about
this menu item, see The Validation Submenus (MySQL Workbench Commercial). MySQL Workbench
Commercial only.
• Object Notation: For information about this menu item, see The Object Notation Submenu.
• Relationship Notation: For information about this menu item, see The Relationship Notation Submenu.
• Diagram Properties and Size: Opens a diagram size dialog box that enables you to adjust the width or
height of the canvas. The unit of measure is pages; the default value is two.
When you have tables with numerous columns, use this menu item to increase the size of the EER.
• Model Options: Sets options at the model level. These options should not be confused with the
options that are set globally for the Workbench application, and which are referred to as Workbench
Preferences. The available model options are a subset of the Workbench Preferences options.
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Model Editor
For more information about Workbench Preferences, see Section 3.2.4, “Modeling Preferences”.
The DBDoc Model Reporting Dialog Window (MySQL Workbench Commercial)
This dialog window is found by navigating to the Model menu and choosing the DBDoc - Model
Reporting... item.
Note
The DBDoc - Model Reporting... feature is only available in MySQL Workbench

Commercial.
Use this dialog window to set the options for creating documentation of your database models. For more
information, see Section 9.2.2, “DBDoc Model Reporting”.
The Validation Submenus (MySQL Workbench Commercial)
The Model menu has two validation submenus, Validation and Validation (MySQL). Use these
submenus for general validation and MySQL-specific validation of the objects and relationships defined in
your model.
Note
These items are only available in MySQL Workbench Commercial.
The Validation submenu has these items:
• Validate All: Performs all available validation checks
• Empty Content Validation: Checks for objects with no content, such as a table with no columns
• Table Efficiency Validation: Checks the efficiency of tables, such as a table with no primary key
defined
• Duplicate Identifiers Validation: Checks for duplicate identifiers, such as two tables with the same
name
• Consistency Validation: Checks for consistent naming conventions
• Logic Validation: Checks, for example, that a foreign key does not reference a nonprimary key column
in the source table
The Validation (MySQL) submenu has these items:
• Validate All: Performs all available validation checks
• Integrity Validation: Checks for invalid references, such as a table name longer than the maximum
permitted
• Syntax validation: Checks for correct SQL syntax
• Duplicate Identifiers Validation (Additions): Checks for objects with the same name
For detailed information about validation, see Section 9.2.3, “Schema Validation Plugins”.
The Object Notation Submenu
The items under the Object Notation submenu apply to both a model and an EER diagram.
The Object Notation submenu has these items:
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Model Editor
• Workbench (Default): Displays table columns, indexes, and triggers
• Workbench (Simplified): Shows only a table's columns
• Classic: Similar to the Workbench (Simplified) style showing only the table's columns
• IDEF1X: The ICAM DEFinition language information modeling style
The object notation style that you choose persists for the duration of your MySQL Workbench session and
is saved along with your model. When MySQL Workbench is restarted, the object notation reverts to the
default.
Note
If you plan to export or print an EER diagram be sure to decide on a notation style
first. Changing notation styles after objects have been placed on a diagram can
significantly change the appearance of the diagram.
The Relationship Notation Submenu
The items under the Relationship Notation submenu apply to both a model and an EER diagram.
The Relationship Notation submenu has these items:
• Crow's Foot (IE): The default modeling style. For an example, see Figure 9.27, “Adding Tables to the
Canvas”.
• Classic: Uses a diamond shape to indicate cardinality.
• Connect to Columns
• UML: Universal Modeling Language style.
• IDEF1X: The ICAM DEFinition language information modeling method
To view the different styles, set up a relationship between two or more tables and choose the different
menu items.
The relationship notation style that you choose persists for the duration of your MySQL Workbench session
and is saved along with your model. When MySQL Workbench is restarted, the relationship notation
reverts to the default, the Crow's Foot style.
Note
If you plan to export or print an EER diagram, be sure to decide on a notation style
first. Changing notation styles after objects have been placed on a diagram can
significantly change the appearance of the diagram.
The Database Menu

This menu features actions against the connected MySQL server. The Database menu has these items:
• Query Database: Launches the SQL Editor, which enables you to create SQL code and execute it on a
live server. For more information, see Section 8.1, “Visual SQL Editor”.
• Manage Connections: Launches the Manage Server Connections dialog, which enables you to create
and manage multiple connections. For more information, see Section 5.3, “Manage Server Connections”
• Reverse Engineer: Creates a model from an existing database. For more information, see
Section 9.4.2.2, “Reverse Engineering a Live Database”.
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• Forward Engineer: Creates a database from a model. For more information, see Section 9.4.1.2,
“Forward Engineering to a Live Server”.
• Schema Transfer Wizard...: Executes the database migration wizard for MySQL databases. It is useful
for moving from an older MySQL server to the latest MySQL version, and is meant for local development
purposes. You should not use this tool on production MySQL instances as they often require more
complex data migration techniques.
For additional information about this wizard, see MySQL Schema Transfer Wizard.
• Migration Wizard...: Executes the database migration wizard for most any database, and is meant
to migrate tables and data from supported database systems to your MySQL server. For additional
information, see Chapter 10, Database Migration Wizard.
• Edit Type Mappings for Generic Migration: From here you can define custom type mappings, such as
migrating the source data type int8 to the target MySQL data type BIGINT.
• Synchronize Model: Synchronizes your database model with an existing database. For more
information, see Section 9.5.1, “Database Synchronization”.
• Synchronize with Any Source: Allows you to compare a target database or script with the open model,
external script, or a second database, and apply these changes back to the target. For more information,
see Section 9.5.1, “Database Synchronization”.
• Compare Schemas: Compares your schema model with a live database or a script file. Section 9.5.2,
“Compare and Report Differences in Catalogs”.
The Tools Menu

The Tools menu lists tools and utilities that related to MySQL Workbench usage.
• Browse Audit Log File: Launches a file browser to open a specific audit log file. MySQL Workbench
prompts for sudo access if the MySQL Workbench user is unable to read the audit log file. For additional
information about the Audit Inspector, see Section 6.6, “MySQL Audit Inspector Interface”. MySQL
Workbench Commercial only.
• Configuration: Backup (or restore) your MySQL Connections, as defined in MySQL Workbench.
Connection data is stored in a connections.xml file, for additional information about this file, see
Section 3.3, “MySQL Workbench Settings and Log Files”.
• Utilities: These utilities generate PHP code to either "Connect to the MySQL server" or "Iterate SELECT
results", if applicable. For additional information about PHP code generation, see Section 8.1.11.2,
“Generating PHP Code”.
• Start Shell for MySQL Utilities: Opens the mysqluc MySQL Utility. For additional information about
MySQL Utilities, see Appendix F, MySQL Utilities.
The Scripting Menu

This menu features GRT scripting and plugin options. The Scripting menu has these items:
• Scripting Shell: Launches the MySQL Workbench Scripting Shell. For additional information, see
Section C.5, “The Workbench Scripting Shell”.
• New Script: Opens a New Script File dialogue, with options to create a Python Script, Python Plugin,
or Python Module.
• Open Script: Opens a Open GRT Script dialogue, which defaults to the Workbench scripts directory.
Files are opened into the Workbench Scripting Shell window.
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• Run Script File: Executes the script that is currently open.
• Run Workbench Script File: Executes the specified script file.
• Install Plugin/Module File: Loads and installs a plugin or module file
• Plugin Manager: Displays information about the plugins that are installed, and allows disabling and
uninstalling the plugins.
The Help Menu

Use the Help menu when you require support, or when you want to help improve MySQL Workbench. This
menu has the following items:
• Help Index: Opens a window showing a local copy of the MySQL Workbench documentation. Read,
search, or print the documentation from this window.
• MySQL.com Website: Opens your default browser on the MySQL website home page.
• Workbench Product Page: Opens your default browser on the MySQL Workbench product page.
• System Info: Displays information about your system, which is useful when reporting a bug. For more
information, see System Info.
• Report a Bug: Opens your default browser to bugs.mysql.com, and automatically fills in several fields
such as the Operating System and MySQL Workbench version by passing in additional data via the
GET request. The default "Description" requests you to also attach the Workbench log file. For additional
information about reporting useful bug reports, see Appendix D, How To Report Bugs or Problems.
• View Reported Bugs: Opens your default browser to see a list of current bugs.
• Locate Log Files: Opens up the directory that contains the MySQL Workbench log files.
• Show Log File: Opens up the main MySQL Workbench log file in your default text editor. This file is
typically named wb.log.
• Check For Updates: Checks if you are using the current MySQL Workbench version. If you are, then
a popup informs you of this. If not, then a prompt asks you to open the MySQL Workbench download
page.
• About Workbench: Displays the MySQL Workbench About window. This also displays the MySQL
Workbench version.
System Info
Use the Help, System Info menu item to display information about your system. This item is especially
useful for determining your rendering mode. Sample output follows.
MySQL Workbench Community (GPL) for Windows version 6.1.4 revision 11773 build 1454
Configuration Directory: C:\Users\philip\AppData\Roaming\MySQL\Workbench
Data Directory: C:\Users\philip\Desktop\MySQL\MySQL Workbench 6.1.4 CE
Cairo Version: 1.8.8
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (build 7601), 64-bit
CPU: 4x Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2400 CPU @ 3.10GHz, 8.0 GiB RAM
Active video adapter NVIDIA GeForce GT 610
Installed video RAM: 1024 MB
Current video mode: 1920 x 1080 x 4294967296 colors
Used bit depth: 32
Driver version: 9.18.13.2049
Installed display drivers: nvd3dumx.dll,nvwgf2umx.dll,nvwgf2umx.dll,nvd3dum,nvwgf2um,nvwgf2um
Current user language: English (United States)
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9.1.1.2 The Toolbar

The MySQL Workbench toolbar is located immediately below the menu bar. Click the tools in the toolbar to
perform the following actions:
• The new document icon: Creates a new document
• The folder icon: Opens a MySQL Workbench file (.mwb extension)
• The save icon: Saves the current MySQL Workbench project
• The right and left arrows: The left arrow performs an “Undo” operation. The right arrow performs a
“Redo” operation.
Other tools appear on the toolbar depending upon the context.
Tool-Specific Toolbar Items

When an EER diagram canvas is selected, the following icons appear to the right of the arrow icons:
• The toggle grid icon: Turns the grid on and off
• The grid icon: Aligns objects on the canvas with the grid
• The new EER diagram icon: Creates a new EER diagram tab.
The toolbar also changes depending upon which tool from the vertical toolbar is active. For discussion of
these tools, see Section 9.1.2.1, “The Vertical Toolbar”.
If the Table tool is active, schemata lists, engine types, and collations appear on the toolbar. The table
properties can be modified using the Properties Editor.
When an object is selected, the object's properties, such as color, can be changed in the Properties Editor.
9.1.1.3 EER Diagrams

Use the Add Diagram icon to create EER diagrams. When you add an EER diagram, a new tab appears
below the toolbar. Use this tab to navigate to the newly created EER diagram. For further discussion of
EER Diagrams, see Section 9.1.2, “EER Diagram Editor”.
9.1.1.4 The Physical Schemas Panel

The Physical Schemas panel of the MySQL Model page shows the active schemas and the objects
that they contain. Expand and contract the Physical Schemas panel by clicking the arrow for the panel.
MySQL Workbench provides the details of each physical schema in a separate tab. A new model includes
an initial schema named mydb by default. You can start working with this schema (add or edit table, view,
and group objects) or create additional schemas in the model. When you save a new model, MySQL
Workbench creates an icon in the models view of the home screen tab. Each model icon shows the model
name, schema name, and the location of the model file (models use the .mwb extension). A model with
multiple schemas shows the name of the last schema that you added to the model.
To add a new schema, click + on the Physical Schemas panel. To remove a schema, select its tab
and click -. The other three buttons on the panel control how database object information is displayed,
specifically:
• The left button displays database objects as large icons.
• The middle button displays small icons in multiple rows.
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• The right button displays small icons in a single list.
The Schema Objects Panel

The Physical Schemas panel has the following sections:
• Tables
• Views
• Routines
• Routine Groups
Each section contains the specified database objects and an icon used for creating additional objects.
Any database objects added to an EER diagram canvas also show up in the Physical Schemas section.
For information about adding objects to an EER diagram canvas, see Section 9.1.2, “EER Diagram Editor”.
9.1.1.5 The Schema Privileges Panel

The Schema Privileges panel has the following sections, used to create users for your schemas and to
define roles:
• Users
• Roles
The following figure displays the Schema Privileges section of the MySQL Model tab.
Figure 9.6 Roles and Privileges
Adding Users
To add a user, double-click the Add User icon. This creates a user with the default name user1. Double-
clicking this user opens the user editor docked at the bottom of the application.
In the User Editor, set the user name and password using the Name and Password fields. Assign
one role or a number of roles to the user by selecting the desired roles from the field on the right and then
clicking <. Roles may be revoked by moving them in the opposite direction.
Right-clicking a user opens a context menu. The items in the menu function as described in Adding Roles
and Object Privileges.
Adding Roles and Object Privileges

To add a role, double-click the Add Role icon. This action creates a role with the default name role1 in
the Roles area of the Schema Privileges panel and opens the role editor. The editor has two tabs located
at the bottom of the editor: Role and Privileges.
To open a context menu with the following actions, right-click an existing role:
• Cut 'role_name': Cuts the role.
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• Copy 'role_name': Copies the role.
• Paste: Pastes a role from the clipboard. Dimmed if the clipboard is empty.
• Edit 'role_name': Opens the role editor.
• Edit 'role_name' in New Tab: Currently not implemented.
• Copy SQL to Clipboard: Currently not implemented.
• Delete 'role_name': Removes the role.
• Remove Figure 'role_name': Currently not implemented.
Role tab. The Role tab of the role editor includes the Name field with a default value consisting of
role + x (x is an incremental number starting at 1). Each role also appears in the Roles group, which
represents the hierarchical relationship among the defined roles. The Parent drop-down list enables you to
share the privileges of an existing role with descendent roles.
To rename a role, double-click the role name to reopen the role editor. Then edit the text in the Name field.
Privileges tab. A newly created role might include the privileges of a parent role. However, if no parent
role was provided, the Objects and Privileges groups are empty. To add an object and define privileges
for it, drag the object icon from the Schema Privileges panel to the Objects group and then select the
object to show a list of valid privileges. Grant an individual privilege by selecting the check box for it or click
Check all Privileges to select all of the rights.
The following figure shows the film table object from the sakila schema with INDEX, INSERT, SELECT,
and TRIGGER selected for the role1 role.
Figure 9.7 Role Editor
9.1.1.6 The SQL Scripts Panel

Use the SQL Scripts panel to attach SQL scripts to the model for documentation and organizational
purposes, and optionally these attachments can be included in the output script when performing forward
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engineering or model/schema synchronization. The following figure shows the options available to
customize the placement of attached SQL Scripts.
If you created your project from an SQL script and plan to create an ALTER script, you may want to add the
original script here, because it will be needed to create an ALTER script. For more information, see Altering
a Schema.
Note
The ability to use the attachments when performing forward engineering and
synchronization was added in MySQL Workbench 6.2.0.
Figure 9.8 SQL Scripts Editor
9.1.1.7 The Model Notes Panel

Use the Model Notes panel to write project notes. Any scripts or notes added will be saved with your
project.
9.1.1.8 The History Palette

Use the History palette to review the actions that you have taken. Left-clicking an entry opens a pop-up
menu with the item, Copy History Entries to Clipboard. Choose this item to select a single entry. You
can select multiple contiguous entries by pressing the Shift key and clicking the entries you wish to copy.
Select non-contiguous entries by using the Control key.
Only actions that alter the MySQL model or change an EER diagram are captured by the History palette.
9.1.2 EER Diagram Editor

EER diagrams are created by double-clicking the Add Diagram icon in the Model Editor. You may create
any number of EER diagrams just as you may create any number of physical schemas (databases). Each
EER diagram opens in a tab below the toolbar. A specific EER diagram is selected by clicking its tab.
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EER Diagram Editor
Clicking an EER diagram tab navigates to the canvas used for graphically manipulating database objects.
The Vertical Toolbar is on the left side of the canvas.
Note
This tool is for creating and editing EER diagrams for a model. To edit an existing
database, either reverse engineer the database to create a model, or synchronize
your model to a database. For additional information, see Section 9.4.2.2, “Reverse
Engineering a Live Database” and Section 9.5, “Schema Synchronization and
Comparison”.
9.1.2.1 The Vertical Toolbar
The vertical toolbar appears on the left sidebar (see the following figure) when an EER diagram tab is
selected. The tools on this toolbar assist in creating EER diagrams.
Figure 9.9 The Vertical Toolbar
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EER Diagram Editor
Clicking a tool changes the mouse pointer to a pointer that resembles the tool icon, indicating which tool is
active. These tools can also be activated from the keyboard by pressing the key associated with the tool.
Hover the mouse pointer over a toolbar icon to display a description of the tool and its shortcut key.
A more detailed description of each of these tools follows.
The Standard Mouse Pointer
The standard mouse pointer, located at the top of the vertical toolbar, is the default mouse pointer for your
operating system. Use this tool to revert to the standard mouse pointer after using other tools.
To revert to the default pointer from the keyboard, use the Esc key.
The Hand Tool
The hand tool is used to move the entire EER diagram. Left-click on this tool and then left-click anywhere
on the EER diagram canvas. Moving the mouse while holding down the mouse button changes the view
port of the canvas.
To determine your position on the canvas, look at the Model Navigator panel on the upper right. If the
Model Navigator panel is not open, use View, Windows, Model Navigator to open it.
To activate the hand tool from the keyboard, use the H key.
You can also change the view port of an EER diagram using the Model Navigator panel. See
Section 9.1.2.2, “The Model Navigator Panel”.
The Eraser Tool
Use the eraser tool to delete objects from the EER Diagram canvas. Change the mouse pointer to the
eraser tool, then click the object you wish to delete. Depending upon your settings, the delete dialog box
should open, asking you to confirm the type of deletion.
Note
The delete action of the eraser tool is controlled by the general option setting for
deletion. Before using the eraser tool, be sure that you understand the available
options described in Section 3.2.4, “Modeling Preferences”.
To activate the eraser tool from the keyboard, use the D key.
You can also delete an object by selecting it and pressing Control+Delete or by right-clicking it and
choosing Delete from the pop up menu.
The Layer Tool
The layer tool is the rectangular icon with a capital L in the lower left corner. Use the layer tool to organize
the objects on an EER Diagram canvas. It is useful for grouping similar objects. For example, you may use
it to group all your views.
Click the layer tool and use it to draw a rectangle on the canvas. Change to the standard mouse pointer
tool and pick up any objects you would like to place on the newly created layer.
To change the size of a layer, first select it by clicking it. When a layer is selected, small rectangles appear
at each corner and in the middle of each side. Adjust the size by dragging any of these rectangles.
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You can also make changes to a layer by selecting the layer and changing properties in the Properties
panel. Using the Properties panel is the only way to change the name of a layer.
To activate the layer tool from the keyboard, use the L key. For more information about layers, see
Section 9.1.7, “Creating Layers”.
The Text Tool
The text tool is the square icon with a capital N in the top left corner. Use this tool to place text objects on
the EER diagram canvas. Click the tool, then click the desired location on the canvas. After a text object
has been dropped on the canvas, the mouse pointer reverts to its default.
To add text to a text object, right-click the text object and choose Edit Note... or Edit in New Window...
from the pop-up menu.
You can manipulate the properties of a text object by selecting it and then changing its properties in the
Properties panel.
To activate the text tool from the keyboard, use the N key. For more information about text objects, see
Section 9.1.9, “Creating Text Objects”.
The Image Tool
Use the image tool to place an image on the canvas. When this tool is selected and you click the canvas, a
dialog box opens enabling you to select the desired graphic file.
To activate the image tool from the keyboard, use the I key. For more information about images, see
Section 9.1.10, “Creating Images”.
The Table Tool
Use this tool to create a table on the EER Diagram canvas.
Clicking the canvas creates a table. To edit the table with MySQL Table Editor, right-click it and choose
Edit Table... or Edit in New Window... from the pop-up menu. You can also double-click the table to load
it into the table editor.
To activate the table tool from the keyboard, use the T key.
For more information about creating and editing tables, see Section 8.1.10, “MySQL Table Editor”.
The View Tool
Use this tool to create a view on an EER Diagram canvas. When the table tool is activated, a schema
list appears on the toolbar below the main menu, enabling you to associate the new view with a specific
schema. You can also select a color for the object by choosing from the color list to the right of the schema
list.
After selecting this tool, clicking the canvas creates a new view. To edit this view, right-click it and choose
Edit View... or Edit in New Window... from the pop-up menu.
To activate the view tool from the keyboard, use the V key.
For more information about creating and editing views, see Section 9.1.5, “Creating Views”.
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EER Diagram Editor
The Routine Group Tool
Use this tool to create a routine group on the EER Diagram canvas. When this tool is activated, a schema
list appears on the toolbar below the main menu, enabling you to associate the routine group with a
specific schema. You can also select a color for the routine group by choosing from the color list to the
right of the schema list.
After selecting this tool, clicking the canvas creates a new group. To edit this view, right-click it and choose
Edit Routine Group... or Edit in New Window... from the pop-up menu.
To activate the routine group tool from the keyboard, use the G key.
For more information about creating and editing routine groups, see Section 9.1.6.2, “Routine Groups”.
The Relationship Tools
The five relationship tools are used to represent the following relationships:
• One-to-many non-identifying relationships
• One-to-one non-identifying relationships
• One-to-many identifying relationships
• One-to-one identifying relationships
• Many-to-many identifying relationships
These tools appear at the bottom of the vertical tool bar. Hover the mouse pointer over each tool to see a
text hint that describes its function.
For more information about relationships, see Section 9.1.4, “Creating Foreign Key Relationships”.
9.1.2.2 The Model Navigator Panel
Docked at the top left of the application is the Model Navigator, or Bird's Eye panel. This panel provides
an overview of the objects placed on an EER diagram canvas and for this reason it is most useful when an
EER diagram is active. Any objects that you have placed on the canvas should be visible in the navigator.
The Model Navigator shows the total area of an EER diagram (see the figure that follows). A black
rectangular outline indicates the view port onto the visible area of the canvas. To change the view port
of an EER diagram, left-click this black outline and drag it to the desired location. You can zoom in on
selected areas of an EER diagram by using the slider tool at the bottom of this window. The dimensions of
the view port change as you zoom in and out. If the slider tool has the focus, you can also zoom using the
arrow keys.
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EER Diagram Editor
Figure 9.10 The Model Navigator: Example
The default size of the Model Navigator is two pages. Use the Model, Diagram Properties and
Size page to change the size and diagram name. The following figure shows an example of the Diagram
Properties dialog.
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EER Diagram Editor
Figure 9.11 The Model Navigator Palette
9.1.2.3 The Catalog Tree Palette

The Catalog Tree palette shows all the schemas that are present in the Physical Schemas section of
the MySQL Model page. Expand the view of the objects contained in a specific schema by clicking the >
button to the left of the schema name. This displays the following folder icons:
• Tables
• Views
• Routine Groups
Expand each of these in turn by clicking the > button to the left of the folder icon.
The Catalog Tree palette is primarily used to drag and drop objects onto an EER diagram canvas.
You can toggle the sidebar on and off using the Toggle Sidebar button, which is located in the top right of
the application.
9.1.2.4 The Layers Palette

This palette shows all of the layers and figures on an EER diagram. If a layer or figure is currently selected,
an X appears beside the name of the object and its properties are displayed in the Properties palette.
This is useful when determining the selected objects multiple objects were selected using the options
under the Select menu item. For more information on this topic, see The Edit Menu.
Selecting an object in the Layers palette also adjusts the view port to the area of the canvas where the
object is located.
Finding Invisible Objects Using the Layers Palette
In some circumstances, you may want to make an object on an EER diagram invisible. Select the object
and, in the Properties palette, set the visible property to False.
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The Layer palette provides an easy way to locate an object, such as a relationship, that has been set to
hidden. Open the Layers palette and select the object by double-clicking it. You can then edit the object
and change its visibility setting to Fully Visible.
9.1.2.5 The Properties Palette

The Properties palette is used to display and edit the properties of objects on an EER diagram. It is
especially useful for editing display objects such as layers and notes.
Selecting an object in the EER diagram displays its properties in the Properties palette.
All objects except connections have the following properties except as noted:
• color: The color accent of the object, displayed as a hexadecimal value. Change the color of the object
by changing this value. Only characters that are legal for hexadecimal values may be entered. You can
also change the color by clicking the ... button to open a color changing dialog box.
• description: Applicable to layers only. A means of documenting the purpose of a layer.
• expanded: This attribute applies to objects such as tables that can be expanded to show columns,
indexes, and triggers.
• height: The height of the object. Depending upon the object, this property may be read only or read/
write.
• left: The number of pixels from the object to the left side of the canvas.
• locked: Whether the object is locked. The value for this attribute is either true or false.
• manualSizing: Whether the object was manually sized. The value for this attribute is either true or
false.
• name: The name of the object.
• top: The number of pixels from the object to the top of the canvas.
• visible: Whether the object shows up on the canvas. Use ‘1’ for true and ‘0’ for false. It is currently
used only for relationships.
• width: The width of the object. Depending upon the object, this property may be read only or read/write.
Tables have the following additional properties:
• indexesExpanded: Whether indexes are displayed when a table is placed on the canvas. Use ‘1’ for
true and ‘0’ for false.
• triggersExpanded: Whether triggers are displayed when a table is placed on the canvas. Use ‘1’ for
true and ‘0’ for false.
For a discussion of connection properties, see Section 9.1.4.3, “Connection Properties”.
9.1.3 Creating Tables

9.1.3.1 Adding Tables to the Physical Schemas
Double-clicking the Add table icon in the Physical Schemas section of the Model Overview tab adds
a table with the default name of table1. If a table with this name already exists, the new table is named
table2.
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Creating Tables
Adding a new table automatically opens the table editor docked at the bottom of the application. For
information about using the table editor, see Section 8.1.10, “MySQL Table Editor”.
Right-clicking a table opens a context menu with the following items:
• Cut 'table_name': Cut a table to optionally paste it into another schema.
• Copy 'table_name': Copy a table to optionally paste it into another schema.
• Paste 'table_name': Paste a cut or copied table. The Paste option is also accessible from the main
Edit menu.
• Edit 'table_name': Changes the docked table editor to the selected table.
• Edit 'table_name' in New Tab: Opens the table in a new table editor tab.
• Copy SQL to Clipboard: Copies a CREATE TABLE statement for the table.
• Copy Column Names to Clipboard: Copies a comma-separated list of column names.
• Copy Insert to Clipboard: Copies INSERT statements based on the model's inserts. Nothing is copied
to the clipboard if the table has no inserts defined.
• Copy Insert Template to Clipboard: Copies a generic INSERT statement that is based on the model.
• Delete 'table_name': Remove a table from the database.
Warning
This immediately deletes the table without a confirmation dialog box.
• Remove Figure 'table_name': If applicable, remove the figure associated with the table.
If the table editor is not open, the Edit 'table_name' item opens it. If it is already open, the selected table
replaces the previous one. Edit 'table_name' in New Tab opens an additional table editor tab.
Any tables added to the Physical Schemas section also show up in the Catalog Tree palette within
the EER Diagram tab. They may be added to an EER Diagram by dragging and dropping them from this
palette.
9.1.3.2 Adding Tables to an EER Diagram

Tables can also be added to an EER Diagram using the table tool on the vertical toolbar. Make sure that
the EER Diagram tab is selected, then right-click the table icon on the vertical toolbar. The table icon is the
rectangular tabular icon.
Clicking the mouse on this icon changes the mouse pointer to a table pointer. You can also change the
mouse pointer to a table pointer by pressing the T key.
Choosing the table tool changes the contents of the toolbar that appears immediately below the menu
bar. When the Tables pointer is active, this toolbar contains a schemas list, an engines list, a collations
list, and a color chart list. Use these lists to select the appropriate schema, engine, collation, and color
accent for the new table. Make sure that you associate the new table with a database. The engine and
collation of a table can be changed using the table editor. The color of your table can be changed using
the Properties palette. The Default Engine and Default Collation values refer to the database
defaults.
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Creating Foreign Key Relationships
Create a table by clicking anywhere on the EER Diagram canvas. This action creates a new table with the
default name table1. To revert to the default mouse pointer, click the arrow icon at the top of the vertical
toolbar.
Figure 9.12 A Table on an EER Diagram
As shown in the preceding figure, the primary key is indicated by a key icon and indexed fields are
indicated by a different colored diamond icon. Click the arrow to the right of the table name to toggle the
display of the fields. Toggle the display of indexes and triggers in the same way.
Right-clicking a table opens a pop-up menu with the following items:
• Cut 'table_name'
• Copy 'table_name'
• Paste
• Edit 'table_name'
• Edit 'table_name' in New Tab...
• Copy SQL to Clipboard
• Copy Column Names to Clipboard
• Copy Inserts to Clipboard
• Copy Insert Template to Clipboard
• Delete 'table_name'
• Remove Figure 'table_name'
With the exception of the deletion item, these menu items function as described in Section 9.1.3.1,
“Adding Tables to the Physical Schemas”. The behavior of the delete option is determined by your MySQL
Workbench options settings. For more information, see Section 3.2.4, “Modeling Preferences”.
9.1.4 Creating Foreign Key Relationships

Foreign key constraints are supported for the InnoDB storage engine only. For other storage engines,
the foreign key syntax is correctly parsed but not implemented. For more information, see FOREIGN KEY
Constraint Differences.
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Using MySQL Workbench you may add a foreign key from within the table editor or by using the
relationship tools on the vertical toolbar of an EER Diagram. This section deals with adding a foreign key
using the foreign key tools. To add a foreign key using the table editor, see Section 8.1.10.4, “Foreign Keys
Tab”.
The graphical tools for adding foreign keys are most effective when you are building tables from the ground
up. If you have imported a database using an SQL script and need not add columns to your tables, you
may find it more effective to define foreign keys using the table editor.
9.1.4.1 Adding Foreign Key Relationships Using an EER Diagram

The vertical toolbar on the left side of an EER Diagram has six foreign key tools:
• one-to-one non-identifying relationship
• one-to-many non-identifying relationship
• one-to-one identifying relationship
• one-to-many identifying relationship
• many-to-many identifying relationship
• Place a Relationship Using Existing Columns
Differences include:
• An identifying relationship: identified by a solid line between tables
An identifying relationship is one where the child table cannot be uniquely identified without its parent.
Typically this occurs where an intermediary table is created to resolve a many-to-many relationship.
In such cases, the primary key is usually a composite key made up of the primary keys from the two
original tables.
• A non-identifying relationship: identified by a broken (dashed) line between tables
Create or drag and drop the tables that you wish to connect. Ensure that there is a primary key in the table
that will be on the “one” side of the relationship. Click on the appropriate tool for the type of relationship you
wish to create. If you are creating a one-to-many relationship, first click the table that is on the “many” side
of the relationship, then on the table containing the referenced key. This creates a column in the table on
the many side of the relationship. The default name of this column is table_name_key_name where the
table name and the key name both refer to the table containing the referenced key.
When the many-to-many tool is active, double-clicking a table creates an associative table with a many-to-
many relationship. For this tool to function there must be a primary key defined in the initial table.
Use the Model menu, Menu Options menu item to set a project-specific default name for the foreign
key column (see The Relationship Notation Submenu). To change the global default, see Section 3.2.4,
“Modeling Preferences”.
To edit the properties of a foreign key, double-click anywhere on the connection line that joins the two
tables. This opens the relationship editor.
Pausing your mouse pointer over a relationship connector highlights the connector and the related keys
as shown in the following figure. The film and the film_actor tables are related on the film_id field
and these fields are highlighted in both tables. Since the film_id field is part of the primary key in the
film_actor table, a solid line is used for the connector between the two tables. After pausing over a
relationship for a second, a yellow box is displayed that provides additional information.
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Figure 9.13 The Relationship Connector
If the placement of a connection's caption is not suitable, you can change its position by dragging it to
a different location. If you have set a secondary caption, its position can also be changed. For more
information about secondary captions, see Section 9.1.4.3, “Connection Properties”. Where the notation
style permits, Classic for example, the cardinality indicators can also be repositioned.
The relationship notation style in Figure 9.13, “The Relationship Connector” is the default, crow's foot. You
can change this if you are using a Commercial Edition of MySQL Workbench. For more information, see
The Relationship Notation Submenu.
You can select multiple connections by holding down the Control key as you click a connection. This can
be useful for highlighting specific relationships on an EER diagram.
9.1.4.2 The Relationship Editor

Double-clicking a relationship on the EER diagram canvas opens the relationship editor. This has two tabs:
Relationship, and Foreign Key.
Relationship Tab
In the Relationship tab, you can set the caption of a relationship using the Caption field. This name
displays on the canvas and is also the name used for the constraint itself. The default value for this name
is fk_source_table_destination_table. Use the Model menu, Menu Options menu item to set a
project-specific default name for foreign keys. To change the global default, see Section 3.2.4, “Modeling
Preferences”.
You can also add a secondary caption and a caption to a relationship.
The Visibility Settings section is used to determine how the relationship is displayed on the EER Diagram
canvas. Fully Visible is the default but you can also choose to hide relationship lines or to use split
lines. The split line style is shown in the following figure.
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Figure 9.14 The Split Connector
Note
A broken line connector indicates a non-identifying relationship. The split line style
can be used with either an identifying relationship or a non-identifying relationship. It
is used for display purposes only and does not indicate anything about the nature of
a relationship.
To set the notation of a relationship use the Model menu, Relationship Notation menu item. For more
information, see The Relationship Notation Submenu.
Foreign Key Tab

The Foreign Key tab contains several sections: Referencing Table, Cardinality and Referenced Table.
The Mandatory check boxes are used to select whether the referencing table and the referenced table are
mandatory. By default, both of these constraints are true (indicated by the check boxes being checked).
The Cardinality section has a set of radio buttons that enable you to choose whether the relationship is
one-to-one or one-to-many. There is also a check box that enables you to specify whether the relationship
is an identifying relationship.
9.1.4.3 Connection Properties

Right-click a connection to select it. When a connection is selected, it is highlighted and its properties are
displayed in the properties palette. Connection properties are different from the properties of other objects.
The following list describes them:
• caption: The name of the connection. By default, the name is the name of the foreign key and the
property is centered above the connection line.
• captionXOffs: The X offset of the caption.
• captionYOffs: The Y offset of the caption.
• comment: The comment associated with the relationship.
• drawSplit: Whether to show the relationship as a continuous line.
• endCaptionXOffs: The X termination point of the caption offset.
• endCaptionYOffs: The Y termination point of the caption offset.
• extraCaption: A secondary caption. By default, this extra caption is centered beneath the connection
line.
• extraCaptionXOffs: The X offset of the secondary caption.
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Creating Views
• extraCaptionYOffs: The Y offset of the secondary caption.
• mandatory: Whether the entities are mandatory. For more information, see Section 9.1.4.2, “The
Relationship Editor”.
• many: False if the relationship is a one-to-one relationship.
• middleSegmentOffset: The offset of the middle section of the connector.
• modelOnly: Set when the connection will not be propagated to the DDL. It is just a logical connection
drawn on a diagram. This is used, for example, when drawing MyISAM tables with a visual relationship,
but with no foreign keys.
• name: The name used to identify the connection on the EER Diagram canvas. Note that this is not the
name of the foreign key.
• referredMandatory: Whether the referred entity is mandatory.
• startCaptionXOffs: The start of the X offset of the caption.
• startCaptionYOffs: The start of the Y offset of the caption.
In most cases, you can change the properties of a relationship using the relationship editor rather than the
Properties palette.
If you make a relationship invisible by hiding it using the relationship editor's Visibility Settings, and then
close the relationship editor, you will no longer be able to select the relationship to bring up its relationship
editor. To make the relationship visible again, you must expand the table object relating to the relationship
in the Layers palette and select the relationship object. To edit the selected object, right-click it, then select
Edit Object. You can then set the Visibility Settings to Fully Visible. The relationship will then be visible
in the EER Diagram window.
9.1.5 Creating Views

You can add views to a database either from the Physical Schemas section of the MySQL Model page
or from the EER Diagram.
9.1.5.1 Adding Views to the Physical Schemas

To add a view, double-clicking the Add View icon in the Physical Schemas section of the MySQL
Model page. The default name of the view is view1. If a view with this name already exists, the new view
is named view2.
Adding a new view automatically opens the view editor docked at the bottom of the application. For
information about using the view editor, see Section 9.1.5.3, “The View Editor”.
Right-clicking a view opens a pop-up menu with the following items:
• Cut 'view_name'
The 'view_name' is only cut from the EER canvas, and not removed from the schema.
• Copy 'view_name'
• Paste
• Edit View...
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Creating Views
• Edit in New Window...
• Delete 'view_name': deletes from both the EER canvas and schema.
• Remove 'view_name': deletes from the EER canvas, but not the schema.
If the table editor is not open, the Edit View... item opens it. If it is already open, the selected table
replaces the previous one. Edit in New Window... opens a new view editor tab.
The cut and copy items are useful for copying views between different schemas. Copy SQL to Clipboard
copies the CREATE VIEW statement to the clipboard.
Warning
Use the Delete 'view_name' item to remove a view from the database. There will
be no confirmation dialog box.
Any views added to the Physical Schemas section also show up in the Catalog palette on the left side
of the application. They may be added to an EER Diagram, when in the EER Diagram tab, by dragging and
dropping them from this palette.
9.1.5.2 Adding Views to an EER Diagram

Views can also be added to an EER Diagram using the View tool on the vertical toolbar. Make sure that
the EER Diagram tab is selected, then left-click the view icon on the vertical toolbar. The view icon is the
two overlapping rectangles found below the table icon.
Clicking this icon changes the mouse pointer to a view pointer. To change the mouse pointer to a view
pointer from the keyboard, use the V key.
Choosing the View tool changes the contents of the toolbar that appears immediately below the main
menu bar. When the Views pointer is active, this toolbar contains a schemas list and a color chart list.
Use these lists to select the appropriate schema and color accent for the new view. Make sure that you
associate the new view with a database. The color of your view can be changed using the Properties
palette.
Create a view by clicking anywhere on the EER Diagram canvas. This creates a new view with the default
name view1. To revert to the default mouse pointer, click the arrow icon at the top of the vertical toolbar.
Right-clicking a view opens a pop-up menu. With the exception of the delete item, these menu items
function as described in Section 9.1.5.1, “Adding Views to the Physical Schemas”. The behavior of the
delete option is determined by your MySQL Workbench options settings. For more information, see
Section 3.2.4, “Modeling Preferences”.
9.1.5.3 The View Editor

To invoke the view editor, double-click a view object on the EER Diagram canvas or double-click a view
in the Physical Schemas section on the MySQL Model page. This opens the view editor docked at the
bottom of the application. Double-clicking the title bar undocks the editor. Do the same to redock it. Any
number of views may be open at the same time. Each additional view appears as a tab at the top of the
view editor.
There are three tabs at the bottom of the view editor: View, Comments, and Privileges. Navigate between
different tabs using the mouse or from the keyboard by pressing Control+Alt+Tab.
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Creating Routines and Routine Groups
The View Tab
Use the View tab to perform the following tasks:
• Rename the view using the Name text box.
• Enter the SQL to create a view using the SQL field.
• Comment a view using the Comments text area.
The Comments Tab
This tab enables you to enter comments for a particular view.
The Privileges Tab
The Privileges tab of the view editor functions in exactly the same way as the Privileges tab of the routine
editor. For more information, see The Privileges Tab.
9.1.5.4 Modifying a View Using the Properties Palette

When you select a view on the EER Diagram canvas, its properties are displayed in the Properties
palette. Most of the properties accessible from the Properties palette apply to the appearance of a view
on the EER Diagram canvas.
For a list of properties accessible through the Properties palette, see Section 9.1.2.5, “The Properties
Palette”.
9.1.6 Creating Routines and Routine Groups

You can add Routine Groups to a database either from the Physical Schemata section of the MySQL
Model page or from an EER Diagram. Routines may be added only from the Physical Schemata section
of the MySQL Model page.
To view an existing schema, along with its Routines and Routine Groups, choose Database, Reverse
Engineer... from the main menu. After the schema has been added to the current model, you can see the
schema objects on the Physical Schemata panel on the MySQL Model page. The Routines and Routine
Groups are listed there.
MySQL Workbench unifies both stored procedures and stored functions into one logical object called a
Routine. Routine Groups are used to group related routines. Define Routine with the Routine Group
Editor to assign specific routines to a group, using a drag and drop interface.
When designing an EER Diagram, you can place the Routine Groups on the canvas by dragging them
from the Catalog Palette. Placing individual routines on the diagram is not permitted, as it would clutter the
canvas.
9.1.6.1 Routines
Adding Routines to the Physical Schemata
To add a routine, double-click the Add Routine icon in the Physical Schemata section of the MySQL
Model page. The default name of the routine is routine1. If a routine with this name already exists, the
new routine is named routine2.
Adding a new routine automatically opens the routine editor docked at the bottom of the application. For
information about using the routine editor, see The Routine Editor.
267
Right-clicking a routine opens a pop-up menu with the following items:
• Rename
• Cut 'routine_name'
• Copy 'routine_name'
• Paste
• Edit Routine...
• Delete 'routine_name'
The Edit Routine... item opens the routine editor.
The cut and paste items are useful for copying routines between different schemata.
Note
Deleting the code for a routine from the Routines tab of the Routine Group Editor
results in removal of the routine object from the model.
Note
To remove a routine from a routine group, use the controls on the Routine Group
tab of the Routine Group Editor.
The action of the delete option varies depending upon how you have configured MySQL Workbench. For
more information, see Section 3.2.4, “Modeling Preferences”.
The Routine Editor
To invoke the routine editor, double-click a routine in the Physical Schemata section on the MySQL
Model page. This opens the routine editor docked at the bottom of the application. Any number of routines
may be open at the same time. Each additional routine appears as a tab at the top of the routine editor.
Routine and Privileges tabs appear at the bottom of the routine editor. Navigate between different tabs
using the mouse or from the keyboard by pressing Control+Alt+Tab.
The Routine Tab
Use the Routine tab of the routine editor to perform the following tasks:
• Rename the routine using the Name field.
• Enter the SQL to create a routine using the SQL field.
The Privileges Tab
The Privileges tab of the routine editor allows you to assign specific roles and privileges. You may also
assign privileges to a role using the role editor. For a discussion of this topic, see Adding Roles and Object
Privileges.
268
When this tab is first opened, all roles that have been created are displayed in the list on the right. Move
the roles you wish to associate with this table to the Roles list on the left. Do this by selecting a role and
then clicking the < button. Use the Shift key to select multiple contiguous roles and the Control key to
select noncontiguous roles.
To assign privileges to a role, click the role in the Roles list. This displays all available privileges in the
Assigned Privileges list. The privileges that display are:
• ALL
• CREATE
• DROP
• GRANT OPTION
• REFERENCES
• ALTER
• DELETE
• INDEX
• INSERT
• SELECT
• UPDATE
• TRIGGER
You can choose to assign all privileges to a specific role or any other privilege as listed previously.
Privileges irrelevant to a specific table, such as the FILE privilege, are not shown.
If a role has already been granted privileges on a specific table, those privileges show as already checked
in the Assigned Privileges list.
9.1.6.2 Routine Groups

Adding Routine Groups to the Physical Schemata
Double-clicking the Add Routine Group icon in the Physical Schemata section of the MySQL Model
page adds a routine group with the default name of routines1. If a routine group with this name already
exists, the new routine group is named routines2.
Adding a new routine group automatically opens the routine groups editor docked at the bottom of the
application. For information about using the routine groups editor, see The Routine Group Editor.
Right-clicking a routine group opens a pop-up menu with the following items:
• Rename
• Cut 'routine_group_name'
• Copy 'routine_group_name'
• Edit Routine...
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• Delete 'routine_group_name'
The Edit Routine Group... item opens the routine group editor, which is described in The Routine Group
Editor.
The cut and paste items are useful for copying routine groups between different schemata.
Deleting a routine group from the MySQL Model page removes the group but does not remove any
routines contained in that group.
Any routine groups added to the Physical Schemata also show up in the Catalog palette on the right
side of the application. They may be added to an EER diagram by dragging and dropping them from this
palette.
Adding Routine Groups to an EER Diagram
To add routine groups to an EER Diagram, use the Routine Groups tool on the vertical toolbar. Make
sure that the EER Diagram tab is selected, then right-click the routine groups icon on the vertical toolbar.
The routine groups icon is immediately above the lowest toolbar separator.
Clicking the mouse on this icon changes the mouse pointer to a routine group pointer. You can also
change the mouse pointer to a routine pointer by pressing the G key.
Choosing the Routine Group tool changes the contents of the toolbar that appears immediately below
the menu bar. When the Routine Groups pointer is active, this toolbar contains a schemata list and a
color chart list. Use these lists to select the appropriate schema and color accent for the new routine group.
Make sure that you associate the new routine group with a database. The color of your routine group can
be changed later using the Properties palette.
Create a routine group by clicking anywhere on the EER Diagram canvas. This creates a new routine
group with the default name routines1. To revert to the default mouse pointer, click the arrow icon at the
top of the vertical toolbar.
Right-clicking a routine group opens a pop-up menu. With the exception of the delete option and rename
options, these menu options function as described in Adding Routine Groups to the Physical Schemata.
There is no rename option, and the behavior of the delete option is determined by your MySQL Workbench
options settings. For more information, see Section 3.2.4, “Modeling Preferences”.
The Routine Group Editor
To invoke the routine group editor, double-click a routine group object on the EER Diagram canvas or
double-click a routine group in the Physical Schemata section on the MySQL Model page. This opens
the routine group editor docked at the bottom of the application. Double-clicking the title bar undocks
the editor. Do the same to redock it. Any number of routine groups may be open at the same time. Each
additional routine group appears as a tab at the top of the routine editor,
Routine group and Privileges tabs appear at the bottom of the routine editor. Navigate between different
tabs using the mouse or from the keyboard by pressing Control+Alt+Tab.
The Routine Groups Tab
Use the Routine Groups tab of the routine groups editor to perform the following tasks:
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Creating Layers
• Rename the routine group using the Name field.
• Add routines to the group by dragging and dropping them.
• Add comments to the routine group.
The Privileges Tab
The Privileges tab of the routine group editor functions in exactly the same way as the Privileges tab of
the table editor. For more information, see The Privileges Tab.
Modifying a Routine Group Using the Properties Palette
When you select a routine group on the EER Diagram canvas, its properties are displayed in the
Properties palette. All of the properties accessible from the Properties palette apply to the
appearance of a routine group on the EER Diagram canvas.
Palette”.
9.1.7 Creating Layers

You can add layers to a database only from an EER Diagram. Layers are used to help organize objects on
the canvas. Typically, related objects are added to the same layer; for example, you may choose to add all
your views to one layer.
9.1.7.1 Adding Layers to an EER Diagram
To add layers to an EER Diagram, use the Layer tool on the vertical toolbar. Select an EER Diagram tab
and left-click the layer icon on the vertical toolbar. The layer icon is the rectangle with an ‘L’ in the lower
left corner and it is found below the eraser icon.
Clicking the mouse on this icon changes the mouse pointer to a layer pointer. You can also change the
mouse pointer to a layer pointer by pressing the L key.
Choosing the Layer tool changes the contents of the toolbar that appears immediately below the menu
bar. When the Layers pointer is active, this toolbar contains a color chart list. Use this list to select the
color accent for the new layer. The color of your layer can be changed later using the Properties palette.
Create a layer by clicking anywhere on the EER Diagram canvas and, while holding the left mouse button
down, draw a rectangle of a suitable size. This creates a new layer with the default name layer1. To
revert to the default mouse pointer, click the arrow icon at the top of the vertical toolbar.
The following figure shows a layer named "My Sakila Views" with several views:
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Creating Layers
Figure 9.15 The Layer Object
To open the layer editor, either double-click the layer or right-click the layer and choose the edit option. The
available context-menu options are:
• Cut 'layer_name'
• Copy 'layer_name'
• Paste 'a_table_name'
• Edit 'layer_name'
• Delete 'layer_name'
Note
A layer may also be edited via Properties Editor on the left panel, and it offers
additional edit options.
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Creating Notes
The cut and copy items are useful for copying layers between different schemata.
Since layers are not schema objects, no confirmation dialog box opens when you delete a layer regardless
of how you have configured MySQL Workbench. Deleting a layer does not delete schema objects from the
catalog.
Adding Objects to a Layer

To add an object to a layer, drag and drop it directly from the Catalog palette onto a layer. If you pick up
an object from an EER diagram, you must press Control as you drag it onto the layer, otherwise it will not
be “locked” inside the layer.
Locking objects to a layer prevents their accidental removal. You cannot remove them by clicking and
dragging; to remove an object, you also must press the Control key while dragging it.
As a visual cue that the object is being “locked”, the outline of the layer is highlighted as the object is
dragged over it.
If you drag a layer over a table object, the table object will automatically be added to the layer. This also
works for multiple table objects.
Layers cannot be nested. That is, a layer cannot contain another layer object.
9.1.7.2 Modifying a Layer Using the Properties Palette

Choosing "Edit" allows you to edit the layer name and layer background color, and the "Properties Editor"
offers additional edit options.
When you select a layer on the EER Diagram canvas, its properties are displayed in the Properties
palette. The properties accessible from the Properties palette apply to the appearance of a layer on the
EER Diagram canvas.
In some circumstances, you may want to make a layer invisible. Select the layer and, in the Properties
palette, set the visible property to False. To locate an invisible object, open the Layers palette and
select the object by double-clicking it. After an object is selected, you can reset the visible property from
the Properties palette.
Palette”. In addition to the properties listed there, a layer also has a description property. Use this
property to document the purpose of the layer.
9.1.8 Creating Notes

You can add notes to a database only from the Model Notes section of the MySQL Model page. Notes
are typically used to help document the design process.
9.1.8.1 Adding Notes

Double-clicking the Add Note icon in the Model Notes section of the MySQL Model page adds a note
with the default name of note1. If a note with this name already exists, the new note is named note2.
Adding a new note automatically opens the note editor docked at the bottom of the application. For
information about using the note editor, see Section 9.1.8.2, “The Note Editor”.
Right-clicking a note opens a pop-up menu with the following items:
• Rename
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Creating Text Objects
• Cut 'note_name'
• Copy 'note_name'
• Delete 'note_name'
The Edit Note... item opens the note editor. For information about using the note editor, see
Section 9.1.8.2, “The Note Editor”.
The cut and copy items are useful for copying notes between different schemata.
Notes can be added only on the MySQL Model page.
9.1.8.2 The Note Editor

To invoke the note editor, double-click a note object in the Model Note section on the MySQL Model
page. This opens the note editor docked at the bottom of the application. Double-clicking the note tab
undocks the editor. Double-click the title bar to redock it. Any number of notes may be open at the same
time. Each additional note appears as a tab at the top of the note editor.
Use the editor to change the name of a note or its contents.
9.1.9 Creating Text Objects

Text objects are applicable only to an EER diagram. They can be used for documentation purposes; for
example, to explain a grouping of schema objects. They are also useful for creating titles for an EER
diagram should you decide to export a diagram as a PDF or PNG file.
9.1.9.1 Adding Text Objects to an EER Diagram

To add text objects to an EER Diagram, use the Text Object tool on the vertical toolbar. Make sure that
the EER Diagram tab is selected, then right-click the text object icon on the vertical toolbar. The text object
icon is the rectangular icon found below the label icon.
Clicking the mouse on this icon changes the mouse pointer to a text object pointer. You can also change
the mouse pointer to a text object pointer by pressing the N key.
Choosing the Text Object tool changes the contents of the toolbar that appears immediately below the
menu bar. When the Text Object pointer is active, this toolbar contains a color chart list. Use this list to
select the color accent for the new text object. The color of your text object can be changed later using the
Properties palette.
Create a text object by clicking anywhere on the EER Diagram canvas. This creates a new text object
with the default name text1. To revert to the default mouse pointer, click the arrow icon at the top of the
vertical toolbar.
Right-clicking a text object opens a pop-up menu. These menu options are identical to the options for other
objects. However, since a text object is not a database object, there is no confirmation dialog box when
you delete a text object.
9.1.9.2 The Text Object Editor

To invoke the text object editor, double-click a text object on the EER Diagram canvas. This opens the
editor docked at the bottom of the application. Double-clicking the text object table undocks the editor.
Double-click the title bar to redock it. Any number of text objects may be open at the same time. Each
additional text objects appears as a tab at the top of the text editor.
Use the editor to change the name of a text object or its contents.
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Creating Images
Modifying a Text Object Using the Properties Palette
When you select a text object on the EER Diagram canvas, its properties are displayed in the
Properties palette. Most of the properties accessible from the Properties palette apply to the
appearance of a view on the EER Diagram canvas.
Palette”.
There is no property in the Properties palette for changing the font used by a text object. To do so,
choose the Appearance tab of the Workbench Preferences dialog. For more information, see Preferences:
Modeling: Appearance.
9.1.10 Creating Images

Images exist only on the EER Diagram canvas; you can add them only from the EER Diagram window.
9.1.10.1 Adding Images to an EER Diagram

To add images to an EER Diagram, use the Image tool on the vertical toolbar. Make sure that the EER
Diagram tab is selected, then right-click the image icon on the vertical toolbar. The image icon is the icon
just above the table icon.
Clicking the mouse on this icon changes the mouse pointer to an image pointer. You can also change the
mouse pointer to an image pointer by pressing the I key.
Create an image by clicking anywhere on the EER Diagram canvas. This opens a file open dialog box.
Select the desired image, then close the dialog box to create an image on the canvas. To revert to the
default mouse pointer, click the arrow icon at the top of the vertical toolbar.
Right-clicking this object opens a pop-up menu with the following items:
• Cut 'Image'
• Copy 'Image'
• Edit Image...
• Delete 'Image'
These menu items function in exactly the same way as they do for other objects on an EER diagram.
However, images are not database objects so there is no confirmation dialog box when they are deleted.
9.1.10.2 The Image Editor

To invoke the image editor, double-click an image object on an EER Diagram canvas. This opens the
image editor docked at the bottom of the application. Double-clicking the image editor tab undocks the
editor. Double-click the title bar to redock it. Any number of images may be open at the same time. Each
additional image appears as a tab at the top of the image editor.
The Image Tab
Use the Image tab of the image editor to perform the following tasks:
• Rename the image using the Name text box.
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Additional Modeling Tools
• Browse for an image using the Browse button.
Modifying a Image using the Properties Palette

When you select an image on the EER Diagram canvas, its properties are displayed in the Properties
palette. Most of the properties accessible from the Properties palette apply to the appearance of an image
on the EER Diagram canvas.
Palette”.
9.2 Additional Modeling Tools

Additional modeling design tools and features.
9.2.1 Printing Diagrams

The printing options used to create printouts of your EER Diagrams are found under the File menu.
To create documentation of your models, see The DBDoc Model Reporting Dialog Window (MySQL
Workbench Commercial).
9.2.1.1 Printing Options

The printing menu items are not enabled unless an EER diagram is active. These items are available:
• Page Setup
Enables you to choose the paper size, orientation, and margins.
• Print
Sends your EER diagram directly to the printer. This option generates a preview before printing. From
the preview you can adjust the scale of the view and also choose a multipage view. Clicking the printer
icon at the top left of this window, prints the currently selected EER diagram. Close the print preview
window if you need to adjust the placement of objects on the EER diagram canvas.
• Print to PDF
Creates a PDF file of your EER diagram.
• Print to PS
Creates a PostScript file of your EER diagram.
9.2.2 DBDoc Model Reporting

The DBDoc - Model Reporting dialog is found by opening a model, selecting Model from the menu, and
then DBDoc - Model Reporting.
Note
This functionality is only available in the MySQL Workbench Commercial Editions.
Use the DBDoc- Model Reporting dialog to set the options for creating documentation of your database
models. For example, the following figure shows the dialog with HTML Detailed Frames selected and
the template style set to Vibrant.
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DBDoc Model Reporting
Figure 9.16 The DBDoc Model Reporting Options
You can choose from four available templates to generate a report:
• HTML Basic Frames: Model documentation in HTML format that makes use of frames.
• HTML Basic Single Page: Single Page HTML documentation, not using frames.
• HTML Detailed Frames: Detailed HTML documentation, using frames.
• Text Basic: Text file documentation.
When you click a template, a preview image displays on the right side of the page. For the HTML Basic
Frames template, you can select either the Colorful or the Restrained Colors option from the Style
list. The HTML Basic Single Page template offers only the Colorful style. The HTML Detailed
Frames template offers the Vibrant style, and also the more subdued Coated style. The Text Basic
template offers only the Fixed Size Font style.
From the Base Options frame choose the report title and the output directory for the report files.
The following variables may be used to configure the output path:
• ~: The home directory of the user. Available on Linux and macOS versions only.
• %desktopfolder%: The desktop of the user.
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• %documentsfolder%: The Documents folders of the user. The following table shows typical values for
common platforms.
Platform
Typical Default Documents Folder
Windows
C:\Users\user_name\My Documents
Linux
~/Documents
macOS
Users/user_name/Documents
• %date%: The date in the format YYYY-MM-DD.
• %time%: The time in the format HHMM.
• %year%: The year in the format YYYY.
• %month%: The month in the format MM. January is 01 and December is 12.
• %monthname%: The name of the month, rather than the number.
• %day%: The day number in the format DD. For example, the 12th would be 12.
Content options can also be selected:
• Output Table Columns: Display all the columns.
• Output Table Indices: Display all the indexes.
• Output Foreign Keys: Display all the foreign keys.
• Output References from Foreign Keys: Display the tables that foreign keys reference.
• Include DDL code for objects: Generates DDL code.
Clicking the Generate button creates the directory defined in the Output directory text box. If you chose
to create HTML Basic Frames, you will find the following files in this directory:
• basic.css: The style sheet for the overview.html page.
• index.html: The main page.
• overview.html: The model overview, the navigation links shown in the sidebar.
• restrained.css: The CSS file used if the Restrained Colors style option was chosen.
• table_details.html: The main frame of the model report.
Choosing the HTML Basic Single Page option creates a style sheet and an index.html file.
Choosing the HTML Detailed Frames option creates the following files:
• basic.css: The style sheet for the overview.html page. This is used if the vibrant style is chosen.
• coated.css: The CSS file used if the Coated style option was chosen.
• index.html: The main page.
• overview.html: Overview information for the report such as report title, project name and author.
• overview_list.html: A summary of schema in the model along with a list of tables contained in each
schema.
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• routine_details.html: List of all routines for the schema.
• table_details.html: The main report details.
• table_details_list.html: A Schema overview along with details of columns, indexes and foreign
keys for each schema.
• table_element_details.html: The details for every element of the table.
• top.html: The top frame of the report.
• view_details.html: List of all columns and indexes for the schema.
Choosing the Text Basic option creates a directory containing one text file.
You can click index.html to view a report. The following figure shows an output example of the HTML
Detailed Frames report for the world schema.
Figure 9.17 The DBDoc Model Report
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Schema Validation Plugins
For more information about creating custom templates, see Section 9.7, “Customizing DBDoc Model
Reporting Templates”.
9.2.3 Schema Validation Plugins

MySQL Workbench provides validation modules so that you can test your models before implementing
them.
Note
This functionality is only available in MySQL Workbench Commercial.
The validation (MySQL) plugins are accessed from the Model menu within an open MySQL Model or EER
Diagram tab. Beneath the menu item are a number of specific validation tests. Running any one of these
tests (or Validate All) displays validation output in the Modeling Additions area of the window (click
from the toolbar to open or close the panel). Alternatively, you can run the same validation tests from the
Validate tab within the panel as the following figure shows.
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Figure 9.18 Modeling: Validate Tab
Information, warning, and error messages include an icon to show the severity of each issue visually. In
addition, the output is organized by category: Validating routine groups, Validating routines, Validating
tables, and Validating views. Changes made to Model Options (see Model) may alter the output of the
individual validation tests. To copy one or more messages, highlight the output and select Copy from the
context menu.
The following list names the validation type and gives examples of specific violations:
• Consistency Validation
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• Use of the same column with columns of differing data types
• Duplicated Identifiers Validation
• Duplicate object names

• Duplicate role or user names
• Duplicate index or routine names
• Empty Content Validation

• A table with no columns
• A routine or view with no SQL code defined
• A routine group containing no routines
• A table, view, or routine not referenced by at least one role
• A user with no privileges
• Objects such as tables that do not appear on at least one EER Diagram
• Integrity Violation
• An object name longer than the maximum permitted
• A foreign key defined for an engine type that does not support foreign keys (not yet implemented)
• A view or routine that references a nonexistent table (not yet implemented)
• A default value that does not match a column's data type
• An invalid partitioning scheme
• Logic Validation
• A foreign key that refers to a column other than the primary key in the source table
• Any object that is object is either read only or write only by role definition
• Placeholder objects left over from reverse engineering
• Syntax Violation
• A routine, trigger, or view with incorrect SQL syntax
• A reserved keyword used as an identifier
• Use of an invalid character

• Table Efficiency Validation
• A table with no primary key
• A primary key that does not use an integer-based data type
• A foreign key that refers to a column with a different data type
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Modeling Tutorials
9.3 Modeling Tutorials

This chapter contains three short tutorials intended to familiarize you with the basics of MySQL
Workbench. These tutorials show how MySQL Workbench can be used both to design and to document
databases.
Creating a database from scratch is the focus of Section 9.3.4, “Using the Default Schema” and exploring
the graphic design capabilities of MySQL Workbench is touched upon in Section 9.3.2, “Basic Modeling”.
Both these tutorials show the database design capabilities of MySQL Workbench.
Importing an SQL data definition script is probably the quickest way to familiarize yourself with MySQL
Workbench—this tutorial makes use of the sakila database and emphasizes the use of MySQL
Workbench as a documentation tool. Examples taken from the sakila database are used throughout the
documentation, so this installation procedure is recommended.
9.3.1 Creating a Model

This tutorial describes how to create a new database model and how to forward-engineer a model to a live
MySQL server.
Note
Alternatively, you can create a model from a database by using the reverse
engineering wizard. For additional information, see Section 9.4.2.2, “Reverse
Engineering a Live Database”.
1. Start MySQL Workbench. On the home screen, click the models view from the sidebar and then click
(+) next to Models. Alternatively, you can click File and then New Model from the menu (shown in the
Figure 9.19 Getting Started Tutorial - Home Screen
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Creating a Model
A model can contain multiple schemas. Note that when you create a new model, it contains the mydb
schema by default. You can change the name of this default schema as needed or you can delete it.
2. Click the + button on the right side of the Physical Schemas toolbar to add a new schema. The default
schema name is new_schema1, which you can now change to dvd_collection by modifying its
Name field. Confirm this change in the Physical Schemas panel shown in the next figure. Now you are
ready to add a table.
Figure 9.20 Getting Started Tutorial - New Schema
3. Double-click Add Table in the Physical Schemas section.
4. This automatically loads the table editor with the default table name table1. Edit the Table Name field
to change the table name from table1 to movies.
5. Next, add columns to your table. Double-click a Column Name cell and the first field defaults to
moviesid because (by default) MySQL Workbench appends id to the table name for the initial field.
Change moviesid to movie_id and keep the Datatype as INT, and also select the PK (PRIMARY
KEY), NN (NOT NULL), and AI (AUTO_INCREMENT) check boxes.
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Creating a Model
6. Add the two additional columns described in the following table. The figure that appears after the table
shows all three columns in the movies table.
Column Name Data Type Column Properties

movie_title VARCHAR(45) NN
release_date DATE (YYYY-MM-DD) None
Figure 9.21 Getting Started Tutorial - Editing table columns
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Creating a Model
7. For a visual representation (EER diagram) of this schema, select Model and then Create Diagram
from Catalog Objects to create the EER Diagram for the model. The next figure shows the a new tab
titled EER Diagram, which displays diagram representation of the movies table and columns.
Figure 9.22 Getting Started Tutorial - EER Diagram
8. In the table editor, change the name of the column movie_title to title. Note that the EER
Diagram is automatically updated to reflect this change.
Note
To open the table editor, either change back to the MySQL Model tab and right-
click on the movies table, or right-click on movies in the EER diagram and
select an Edit 'movies' option.
9. Save the model by choosing File and then Save Model from the menu, or click the Save Model to
Current File icon on the menu toolbar. For this tutorial, type Home_Media and then click Save.
Before synchronizing your new model with the live MySQL server, confirm that you already created a
MySQL connection. This tutorial assumes you have created a connection already. If not, see Section 5.2,
“Creating A New MySQL Connection (Tutorial)” and use that tutorial to create a MySQL connection named
MyFirstConnection, although an alternative connection can also work.
Now forward-engineer your model to the live MySQL server as follows:
1. Select Database and then Forward Engineer from the menu to open the Forward Engineer to
Database wizard.
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Creating a Model
2. The Connection Options step selects the MySQL connection and optionally sets additional options for
the selected MySQL connection. Make any necessary connection changes and then click Next.
Note
You may decided to choose a different MySQL connection here, but this tutorial
uses MyFirstConnection.
3. The Options step lists optional advanced options (as shown in the figure that follows). For this tutorial,
you can ignore these options and click Next.
Figure 9.23 Getting Started Tutorial - Options
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Creating a Model
4. Select an object to export to the live MySQL server. In this case, there is only one table
(dvd_collection.movie). Select the Export MySQL Table Objects check box (as the figure
that shows) and then click Next.
Figure 9.24 Getting Started Tutorial - Select Objects
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Basic Modeling
5. The Review SQL Script step displays the SQL script that will be executed on the live server to create
your schema. Review the script to make sure that you understand the operations that will be carried
out.
Click Next to execute the forward-engineering process.
Figure 9.25 Getting Started Tutorial - Review SQL Script
6. The Commit Progress step confirms that each task was executed. Click Show Logs to view the logs. If
no errors are present, click Close to close the wizard.
7. The new dvd_collection database is now present on the MySQL server. Confirm this by opening
the MySQL connection and viewing the schema list, or by executing SHOW DATABASES from the
MySQL Command Line Client (mysql).
8. Click the Save Model to Current File icon on the menu toolbar to save the model.
For additional information about data modeling, see Chapter 9, Database Design and Modeling.
9.3.2 Basic Modeling

On the MySQL Model screen, double-click the Add Diagram icon (shown in the following figure). This
action creates and opens a new EER Diagram canvas.
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Basic Modeling
Figure 9.26 Adding an EER Diagram
From an EER diagram page you can graphically design a database.
9.3.2.1 Adding a Table

The tools in the vertical toolbar on the left of the EER Diagram tab are used for designing an EER
diagram. Start by creating a table using the table tool. The table tool is the rectangular grid in the middle of
the vertical toolbar. Mousing over it shows the message, Place a New Table (T).
Clicking this tool changes the mouse pointer to a hand with a rectangular grid. Create a table on the
canvas by clicking anywhere on the EER Diagram grid.
Right-click the table and choose Edit in New Window from the pop-up menu. This opens the table editor,
docked at the bottom of the application.
The table name defaults to table1. Change the name by entering invoice into the Name: field.
Changes here affect the name of the tab in the table editor and the name of the table on the canvas.
Pressing Tab or Enter while the cursor is in the table name field selects the Columns tab of the table
editor and creates a default column named idinvoice.
Pressing Tab or Enter again sets the focus on the Datatype list with INT selected. Notice that a field has
been added to the table on the EER canvas.
Pressing Tab yet again and the focus shifts to adding a second column. Add a Description and a
Customer_id column. When you are finished, close the table editor, by clicking the x button on the top
left of the table editor.
9.3.2.2 Creating a Foreign Key

Select the table tool again and place another table on the canvas. Name this table invoice_item. Next
click the 1:n Non-Identifying Relationship tool.
First, click the invoice_item table; notice that a red border indicates that this table is selected. Next,
click the invoice table. This creates a foreign key in the invoice_item table, the table on the “many”
side of the relationship. This relationship between the two tables is shown graphically in crow's foot
notation.
Revert to the default mouse pointer by clicking the arrow at the top of the vertical toolbar. Click on the
invoice_item table and select the Foreign keys tab.
Click the Foreign key Name field. The referenced table should show in the Referenced Table column and
the appropriate column in the Referenced Column column.
To delete the relationship between two tables, click the line joining the tables and then press Control
+Delete.
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Importing a Data Definition SQL Script
Experiment with the other tools on the vertical toolbar. Delete a relationship by selecting the eraser tool
and clicking the line joining two tables. Create a view, add a text object, or add a layer.
Save your changes to a MySQL Workbench model file (.mwb extension) by choosing Save from the File
menu or by using the keyboard command Control+S.
9.3.3 Importing a Data Definition SQL Script

For this tutorial, use the sakila database script, which you can find by visiting the https://dev.mysql.com/
doc/index-other.html page.
After downloading the file, extract it to a convenient location. Open MySQL Workbench, select the models
view from the sidebar in the home screen, click (>) next to Models, and then click Reverse Engineer
MySQL Create Script. Find and import the sakila-schema.sql file. This is the script that contains the
data definition statements for the sakila database. The file filter for the file open dialog window defaults
to *.sql so you should be able to view only files with the sql extension.
If the file was successfully imported, the application's status bar reads, Import MySQL Create Script
done. To view the newly imported script, expand the Physical Schemas section by double-clicking the
arrow on the left of the Physical Schemas title bar. Select the tab labeled sakila.
You may also wish to remove the default schema tab, mydb. Select this tab, then click - on the upper right
in the Physical Schemas panel.
To view all the objects in the sakila schema, you may need to expand the Physical Schemas panel.
Move the mouse pointer anywhere over the gray area that defines the lower edge of the Physical
Schemas panel. Hold down the right mouse button and move the mouse to adjust the size of the window.
After you have expanded the window, all the objects in the sakila database should be visible. Tables
appear at the top followed by views and then routines. There are no routine groups in this schema, but you
should see the Routine Groups section and an Add Group icon.
For a complete description of importing a MySQL create script, see Section 9.4.2.1, “Reverse Engineering
Using a Create Script”.
9.3.3.1 Adding an EER Diagram
To create an EER diagram for the sakila database, first add an EER diagram by double-clicking the Add
Diagram icon in the EER Diagrams panel to create and open a new EER Diagram editor.
The EER Diagram canvas is where object modeling takes place. To add a table to the canvas, select the
Catalog tab in the middle panel on the right side of the application to display any schemas that appear in
the MySQL Model tab. Find the sakila schema and expand the view of its objects by clicking + to the left
of the schema name. Expand the tables list in the same way.
You can add tables to the EER canvas by dragging them from the Catalog panel dropping them onto the
canvas. Drop the address table and the city table onto the canvas, as the following figure shows.
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Figure 9.27 Adding Tables to the Canvas
MySQL Workbench automatically discovers that address.city_id has been defined as a foreign key
referencing the city.city_id field. Drop the country table onto the canvas and immediately you
should see the relationship between the country table and the city table. (To view all the relationships
in the sakila database, see Figure 9.32, “The sakila Database EER Diagram”.)
Click the Properties tab of the panel on the lower left and then click one of the tables on the canvas. This
action displays the properties of the table in the Properties window, as the next figure shows. While
a table is selected, you can use the Properties window to change a table's properties. For example,
entering #FF0000 for the color value will change the color accent to red.
Figure 9.28 Viewing The Properties
Changing the color of a table is a good way to identify a table quickly—something that becomes more
important as the number of tables increases. Changing the color of a table is also an easy way to identify a
table in the Model Navigator panel. This panel, the uppermost panel on the left side of the page, gives
a bird's eye view of the entire EER canvas.
menu or by using the keyboard command Control + S.
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Using the Default Schema
9.3.4 Using the Default Schema

When you first open MySQL Workbench a default schema, mydb appears as the leftmost tab of the
Physical Schemas section of MySQL Workbench as the following figure shows. You can begin designing
a database by using this default schema.
Figure 9.29 The Default Schema
To change the name of the default schema, double-click the schema tab. This opens a schema editor
window docked at the bottom of the application. To undock or redock this window, double-click anywhere
in the editor title bar.
To rename the schema, use the field labeled Name. After you have renamed the schema, a lightning
bolt icon appears right aligned in the Name field, indicating that other changes are pending. Click the
Comments field and a dialog box opens asking if you wish to rename all schema occurrences. Clicking
Yes ensures that your changes are propagated throughout the application. Add comments to the database
and change the collation if you wish. Close the schema editor by clicking the x button.
9.3.4.1 Creating a New Table
Create a new table by double-clicking the Add Table icon in the Physical Schemas panel, as the next
figure shows. This action opens the table editor docked at the bottom of the application. You can undock or
dock this editor in exactly the same way as the schema editor window.
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Figure 9.30 Model: Creating A New Table
Initially, the table name defaults to 'table1' in the table editor. The following figure describes the available
actions.
294
Figure 9.31 Model: Editing Table Values
In the previous example, columns were added using the Columns tab. Clicking an empty row will add
a new column, and clicking an existing column starts edit mode. Click the Tab key to move to the next
column and set the column's data type.
Altering the table by adding indexes or other features is also possible using the table editor by clicking
each tab within the table editor.
9.3.4.2 Creating Other Schema Objects
Additional objects such as views or routines can be added in the same way as tables.
Objects are listed under the Catalog palette on the right. To view these schema objects, select the
Catalog tab in the middle palette on the right. View all the objects by clicking the + button to the left of the
schema name.
menu or by using the keyboard command Control+S.
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Documenting the sakila Database
9.3.5 Documenting the sakila Database

This chapter demonstrates the capabilities of MySQL Workbench as a documentation tool by using the
sakila database, which is a database sample provided by MySQL. You can find this database sample,
and others, by visiting the https://dev.mysql.com/doc/index-other.html page.
An EER diagram provides a quick overview and understanding of a database. Rather than reading through
table definition statements, a quick glance at an EER diagram indicates how tables are related.
You can also see how tables are related; what the foreign keys are and what the nature of the relationship
is.
A PNG File of the sakila Database
Find following an EER diagram showing the tables in the sakila database. The following figure shows the
output that was created using the File, Export, Export as PNG menu item.
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Figure 9.32 The sakila Database EER Diagram
The object notation style used in Figure 9.32, “The sakila Database EER Diagram” is Workbench (PKs
only). This notation shows only primary keys and no other columns, which is especially useful where
space is at a premium. The relationship notation is the default, Crow's Foot.
As the connection lines show, each table is related to at least one other table in the database (with
the exception of the film_text table). Some tables have two foreign keys that relate to the same
table. For example the film table has two foreign keys that relate to the language table, namely
fk_film_language_original and fk_film_language. Where more than one relationship exists
between two tables, the connection lines run concurrently.
Identifying and non-identifying relationships are indicated by solid and broken lines respectively. For
example, the foreign key category_id is part of the primary key in the film_category table so its
relationship to the category table is drawn with a solid line. On the other hand, in the city table, the
foreign key, country_id, is not part of the primary key so the connection uses a broken line.
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Forward and Reverse Engineering
9.4 Forward and Reverse Engineering

MySQL Workbench provides capabilities to forward engineering physical database designs. A visual data
model can be transformed into a physical database on a target MySQL Server by executing the forward
engineering wizard. All SQL code is automatically generated to help eliminate the normal error-prone
process of manually writing complex SQL code. MySQL Workbench also enables you to reverse engineer
an existing database or packaged application to get better insight into its database design. In addition to
forward and reverse engineering existing databases, it can also import SQL scripts to build models, and
export models to DDL scripts to execute at a later time.
9.4.1 Forward Engineering

It is possible to forward engineer a database using an SQL script or by connecting to a live database.
9.4.1.1 Forward Engineering Using an SQL Script
Forward engineering enables you to create a script of your database model. You may export a script to
alter an existing database or create a new database. The script to create a database is similar to the one
created using the mysqldump db_name command.
Choosing to create a database yields additional options.
Creating a Schema
With the MySQL Model (model-name.mwb) tab open, click File, Export, and then Forward Engineer
SQL CREATE Script to start the Forward Engineer SQL Script wizard. The following figure shows the first
page of the wizard.
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Forward Engineering
Figure 9.33 SQL Export Options
The SQL Export Options displays the following facilities:
• Output SQL Script File:
To specify the output file name, enter it into the Output SQL Script File field, or use the Browse button
to select a file. Leave this field blank to view, but not save, the generated output.
• Generate DROP Statements Before Each CREATE Statement
Select this option to generate a statement to drop each object before the statement that creates it. This
ensures that any existing instance of each object is removed when the output is executed.
• Generate DROP SCHEMA
• Sort Tables Alphabetically
When this option is unchecked, tables are sorted according to foreign-key references.
• Skip creation of FOREIGN KEYS
• Skip creation of FK Indexes as well
• Omit Schema Qualifier in Object Names
Select this option to generate unqualified object names in SQL statements.
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Forward Engineering
• Generate USE statements
• Generate Separate CREATE INDEX Statements
Select this option to create separate statements for index creation instead of including index definitions
in CREATE TABLE statements.
• Add SHOW WARNINGS after every DDL statement
Select this option to add SHOW WARNINGS statements to the output. This causes display of any warnings
generated when the output is executed, which can be useful for debugging.
• Do Not Create Users. Only Export Privileges
Select this option to update the privileges of existing users, as opposed to creating new users. Exporting
privileges for nonexistent users will result in errors when you execute the CREATE script. Exporting users
that already exist will also result in an error.
• Don't create view placeholder tables
• Generate INSERT Statements for Tables
Select this option if you have added any rows to a table. For more information about inserting rows, see
Section 8.1.1, “SQL Query Tab”.
• Disable FK checks for inserts
• Create triggers after inserts
Clicking Next opens the SQL Object Export Filter page (see the figure that follows), which enables you to
select the objects for export.
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Forward Engineering
Figure 9.34 SQL Object Export Filter
Use Show Filter to fine tune (filter) the objects for export. After selecting the objects to export, click Hide
Filter to hide the filter panel.
After selecting the objects to export, click Next to review the generated script. The following figure shows
an example script to review.
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Forward Engineering
Figure 9.35 Review Generated Script
You may return to the previous page using the Back button.
The Finish button saves the script file and exits. You can then use the saved script to create a database.
Altering a Schema
The menu item for creating an ALTER Script File is Database, Synchronize With Any Source. Typically,
this option is used when the SQL script of a database has been imported into MySQL Workbench and
changed, and then you want to create a script that can be executed against the database to alter it to
reflect the adjusted model. For instructions on importing a DDL script, see Section 9.4.2.1, “Reverse
Engineering Using a Create Script”.
Select the Database, Synchronize With Any Source menu item to start the wizard. You will be presented
with the first page showing the introduction and then the available options for setting the source and
destinations of the updates.
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Forward Engineering
Figure 9.36 Synchronize With Any Source: Options
For additional information, see Section 9.5.1, “Database Synchronization”.
9.4.1.2 Forward Engineering to a Live Server
Use forward engineering to export your schema design to a MySQL server.
Select the model that you wish to forward engineer and then choose the Database, Forward Engineer
menu item from the main menu.
The first step of the process is to connect to a MySQL server to create the new database schema. As
the following figure shows, this page enables you to use a previously stored connection or to enter the
connection parameters.
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Forward Engineering
Figure 9.37 Set Parameters for Connecting to a DBMS
Click Next after setting the connection parameters. The next page of the wizard displays Catalog
Validation, as the following figure shows. Validation is available only in the Commercial Edition.
Figure 9.38 Catalog Validation
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Forward Engineering
Click Run Validations to validate the catalog.
Click Next to continue.
The next page enables you to set options for the database to be created (see the following figure). These
options are as described in Creating a Schema.
Figure 9.39 Options
Select the required options and then click Next.
As the following figure shows, the Select Objects page enables you to select the objects to forward
engineer: Table objects, view objects, routine objects, trigger objects, and user objects.
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Forward Engineering
Figure 9.40 Select Objects to Forward Engineer
To select a subset of objects to forward engineer, use the Show Filter/Hide Filter button, then select
specific objects. After you have selected your objects, click Next to continue.
On the Review Script page you may review and edit the SQL script that will be executed.
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Forward Engineering
Figure 9.41 Review Script
Click Next to continue if you are satisfied with the generated script.
The next page of the wizard displays the results of the forward engineering process.
Figure 9.42 Forward Engineering Progress
You can confirm that the script created the schema by connecting to the target MySQL server and issuing
a SHOW DATABASES statement.
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Reverse Engineering
9.4.2 Reverse Engineering

With MySQL Workbench, you can reverse-engineer a database using a MySQL create script or you can
connect to a live MySQL server and import a single database or a number of databases.
9.4.2.1 Reverse Engineering Using a Create Script

To reverse-engineer a database using a create script, do one of the following:
• On the home screen, select the model view from the sidebar, click (>) next to Models, and then click
Reverse Engineer MySQL Create Script.
• With a model selected and its model tab open click File, Import, and then Reverse Engineer MySQL
Create Script from the menu.
Tables, views, routines, routine groups, indexes, keys, and constraints can be imported from an SQL script
file. Objects imported using an SQL script can be manipulated within MySQL Workbench the same as
other objects. The following figure shows an example of the input and options available for this action.
Figure 9.43 Reverse Engineer SQL Script: Input
• Select SQL script file: Open a file with the default file type set to an SQL script file, a file with the
extension sql.
• File encoding: Defaults to UTF8.
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• Place imported objects on a diagram: Also create an EER diagram in MySQL Workbench.
Note
Importing a large number (1000) objects could fail to create an EER diagram and
instead emit a resource warning with the text "Too many objects are selected for
auto placement. Select fewer elements to create the EER diagram." In this case,
execute the reverse engineering wizard with this option disabled, manually create
the EER diagram, and then import the 1000+ objects using the EER diagram
catalog viewer.
If your script creates a database, MySQL Workbench creates a new Physical Schemas area within the
open MySQL Model tab.
Click Execute to reverse-engineer the SQL script, verify its results, and optionally place the objects in a
new EER diagram. The next figure shows an example of the finished operation.
Figure 9.44 Reverse Engineer SQL Script: Execution
Click Next to view a summary of the results and then Finish to close the wizard.
Figure 9.45 Reverse Engineer SQL Script: Results
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Before exiting MySQL Workbench, save the schema. Click File and then Save from the menu to save the
reverse-engineered database as a MySQL Workbench file with the .mwb extension.
For a tutorial on reverse engineering the sakila database, see Section 9.3.3, “Importing a Data Definition
SQL Script”.
Creating a DDL script
You can create a data definition (DDL) script by executing the mysqldump db_name --no-data >
script_file.sql command. Using the --no-data option ensures that the script contains only DDL
statements. However, if you are working with a script that also contains DML statements you need not
remove them; they will be ignored.
Note
If you plan to redesign a database within MySQL Workbench and then export
the changes, be sure to retain a copy of the original DDL script. You will need
the original script to create an ALTER script. For more information, see Altering a
Schema.
Use the --databases option with mysqldump if you wish to create the database as well as all its objects.
If there is no CREATE DATABASE db_name statement in your script file, you must import the database
objects into an existing schema or, if there is no schema, a new unnamed schema is created.
9.4.2.2 Reverse Engineering a Live Database
To reverse-engineer a live database, click Database and then Reverse Engineer from the menu. The
figure that follows shows an example of the Reverse Engineer Database wizard.
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Figure 9.46 Reverse Engineer Database Wizard
The first step of the wizard enables you to set up a connection to the live database you intend to reverse-
engineer. You can set up a new connection or select a previously created stored connection. Typical
information required for the connection includes host name, user name and password.
After this information has been entered, or you have selected a stored connection, click the Next button to
proceed to the next step (shown in the figure that follows).
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Reverse Engineering
Figure 9.47 Connect to DBMS
Review the displayed information to make sure that the connection did not generate errors, then click Next.
The next step displays the schemas available on the server. Select the check box of each schemas you
intend to process. In the following figure, the world schema is selected.
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Reverse Engineering
Figure 9.48 Select Schemas
After you have selected the desired schemas, click the Next button to continue.
The wizard then displays the tasks it carried out and summarizes the results of the operation.
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Reverse Engineering
Figure 9.49 Retrieve Objects
Review the results before clicking Next to continue.
The next step opens the Select Objects to Reverse Engineer page. It has a section for each object type
present in the schema that you can import (tables, views, routines, and so forth). All object types are
selected by default. The Place imported objects on a diagram option is also selected by default.
Note
Importing 250 or more objects could fail to create an EER diagram and instead
emit a resource warning with the text "Too many objects are selected for auto
placement. Select fewer elements to create the EER diagram." In this case, execute
the reverse engineering wizard with this option disabled, manually create the EER
diagram, and then import the 250+ objects using the EER diagram catalog viewer.
This step is of special interest if you do not intend to import all the objects from the existing database. It
gives you the option of filtering which objects are imported. Each section has a Show Filter button. Click
this button if you do not want to import all the objects of a specific type. The following figure shows an
example of the table object section with the filter open.
314
Reverse Engineering
Figure 9.50 Select Objects
The options enable you to select specific tables for import. Having selected the desired tables, you can
hide the filter by clicking Hide Filter.
The other sections, such as MySQL Routine Objects, have similar filters available.
Click Execute to continue to the next step.
The wizard then imports objects, displaying the tasks that have been carried out and whether the operation
was successful. If errors were generated, you can click Show Logs to see the nature of the errors. The
next figure shows an example of the operational progress, which completed successfully.
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Reverse Engineering
Figure 9.51 Reverse Engineer Progress
Click Next to continue to the next step.
The final step of the wizard provides a summary of the reverse-engineered objects, as the following figure
shows.
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Reverse Engineering
Figure 9.52 Results
Click Finish to close the wizard.
Before closing MySQL Workbench, save the schema. Click File and then Save from the menu to save the
reverse-engineered database as a MySQL Workbench file with the .mwb extension.
Errors During Reverse Engineering
During reverse engineering, the application checks for tables and views that duplicate existing names
and disallows duplicate names if necessary. If you attempt to import an object that duplicates the name
of an existing object you will be notified with an error message. To see any errors that have occurred
during reverse engineering, click Show Logs. This action will create a panel containing a list of messages,
including any error messages than may have been generated. Click Hide Logs to close the panel.
If you plan to import an object with the same name as an existing object, rename the existing object before
reverse engineering.
If you import objects from more than one schema, there will be a tab in the Physical Schemas area of
the MySQL Model page for each schema imported.
You cannot reverse-engineer a live database that has the same name as an existing schema. To reuse a
schema name, you must first rename the existing schema.
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Schema Synchronization and Comparison
9.5 Schema Synchronization and Comparison

Database change management is a complex process that involves maintaining different versions of
database schemas and manually modifying existing databases. To help with this administration task,
MySQL Workbench includes schema synchronization and comparison utilities. You can compare two
live databases, two models, or models with live databases, to visually see the differences and optionally
perform a synchronization routine.
9.5.1 Database Synchronization

Synchronize data between models, databases, and SQL files. These three types can be the target
(destination), source, or both. You can also select or deselect individual objects and modify their direction
during the synchronization. For example, you can synchronize tables from a model to your database,
other tables from your database to your model, and skip a few tables all during the same synchronization
process.
Note
Be aware that backward incompatible MySQL syntax changes are introduced over
time, so for this reason it is important to set the Default Target MySQL Version
modeling preference according to your needs. For example, exporting results from
a MySQL 5.7 target might yield invalid syntax when executed against MySQL 5.6.
See also Section 3.2.4, “Modeling Preferences”.
To start, select Synchronize With Any Source from the Database navigation menu, as the following
figure shows. Alternatively, select Synchronize Model to open the same wizard that defaults to a model.
A Model or EER diagram must be selected for these synchronization options to be present under the
Database navigation menu.
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Database Synchronization
Figure 9.53 Start the Synchronization Wizard
Caution
Because MySQL databases correspond to directories within the data directory,

you must consider case sensitivity for database, table, and trigger names, which
follow the case sensitivity rules of the underlying file system for your operating
system. Synchronizing models with objects that differ in case may lead to MySQL
Workbench producing a DROP statement for that object, before recreating it as
lowercase. For more information, see Identifier Case Sensitivity
Workarounds include using a consistent convention, where the most portable code
uses lower case database and table names. Or a temporary workaround is to delete
the DROP SCHEMA IF EXISTS line from the generated query.
MySQL Workbench enables control over objects to synchronize, and the direction of synchronization for
each object. Synchronization options include:
• Specify all or specific tables and objects to synchronize.
• Synchronize both the model and live database, or only update one or the other (unidirectional or
bidirectional).
• Optionally update from or to an SQL script file.
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• Instead of executing the synchronization, you may generate an ALTER Script File to later perform the
appropriate updates.
• Fine-tune how the synchronization will be performed by choosing the direction of each individual object
or by configuring particular objects to be ignored.
There are two similar database synchronization wizards available from the Database menu. The
simpler Synchronize Model wizard, and the more flexible Synchronize with Any Source wizard. The
descriptions that follow apply to both, unless stated otherwise.
Synchronize Model (with Database)

To start the wizard, open a model and select Database, Synchronize Model from the main menu. Follow
the sequence of steps until you reach the Select Changes to Apply step, as the next figure shows.
Figure 9.54 Model and Database Differences
In the preceding example, the live database and model both have movies shows tables. In the MySQL
Workbench, an additional table, educational, has been created in the model, but it lacks an equivalent
in the live database. Further, friends exists in the live database, but it is not in the model. By default, the
actions will synchronize the database with the model, so in this example the educational table will be
added to the source, and the friends table will be removed from the source.
As described in the GUI, double-clicking the arrows will alternate between the Update Model, Ignore, and
Update Source actions. You may also select a row and click one of the three action buttons. Also note that
clicking on a row will reveal the associated SQL statement, as shown in the previous figure.
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The next figure shows an example of how the direction of synchronization can be changed.
Figure 9.55 Controlling Synchronization Direction
In this case, the synchronization direction has been changed so that rather than the default action of
friends being dropped from the live database, it will be incorporated into the MySQL Workbench model.
As before, educational table will be added to the live (source) database.
The three actions available actions are:
• Update Model: Causes the selected changes to be applied to the model, from the live database.
• Ignore: Causes the changes to be ignored. No synchronization will take place for those changes. This is
designated with a double arrow that is crossed out.
• Update Source: Causes the changes to be applied only to the live database.
Clicking Table Mapping offers additional mapping options, as the following figure shows.
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Figure 9.56 Table Mapping
Clicking Next reveals the SQL statement to perform the configured model and live database (source)
synchronization. The following figure shows an example preview.
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Figure 9.57 Previewing The Synchronization SQL Statement
You may now save the SQL statement to a file or the clipboard, or execute the SQL statement. If you
choose to execute the change in MySQL Workbench, then you may optionally choose to skip "DB
changes" so that only your model is altered.
Synchronize With Any Source
To start the wizard, open a model and select Database and then Synchronize With Any Source from the
main menu. The steps are similar to the Synchronize Model wizard, but with additional options to create
SQL script files, use SQL script files, or both. The following figure shows the Select Sources settings.
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Compare and Report Differences in Catalogs
Figure 9.58 Synchronize With Any Source: Select Sources
Notice how the source and destination types can be altered. The steps that follow depend on these source
and destination types, and the Synchronize Model describes the basic functionality of this wizard.
9.5.2 Compare and Report Differences in Catalogs

This facility enables you to create a report detailing the differences between your MySQL Workbench
model, and a live database or script. Choose Database, Compare Schemas from the main menu to run
the Compare and Report Differences in Catalogs wizard.
As the following figure shows, the first step in the wizard enables you to specify which catalogs to compare.
For example, you may choose to compare your live database against your current MySQL Workbench
model.
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Compare and Report Differences in Catalogs
Figure 9.59 Catalog Sources Selection
You then proceed through the wizard, providing connection information if accessing a live database. The
wizard then produces a catalog diff report showing the differences between the compared catalogs, as the
next figure shows.
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Table Templates
Figure 9.60 Catalog Differences Report
9.6 Table Templates

Define table templates with commonly used columns and settings to create new tables from either a live
connection or while creating an EER model.
From the SQL editor, select Create Table Like from the Tables context menu, as shown in the next figure.
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Table Templates
Figure 9.61 New Table Template: SQL Editor
Or while modeling, click the "Open the table template editor" icon under Modeling Additions, as the
327
Table Templates
Figure 9.62 New Table Template: Modeling
After opening the Table Templates manager, make the adjustments and then click Apply to commit the
changes. The following figure shows an example of column, data type, and default values that you can
adjust for the user template.
328
Customizing DBDoc Model Reporting Templates
Figure 9.63 Table Templates Manager
To open an existing template from the SQL editor, hover over the Create Table Like context menu and
select the desired table template. For modeling, double-click on a template in the right modeling sidebar.
9.7 Customizing DBDoc Model Reporting Templates

This section provides an overview of creating and modifying DBDoc Model Reporting templates, as used
by MySQL Workbench.
The MySQL Workbench DBDoc Model Reporting system is based on the Google Template System. This
discussion does not attempt to explain the Google Template System in detail. For a useful overview of
how the Google Template System works, see the Google document, How To Use the Google Template
System.
The templates employed by the DBDoc Model Reporting system are text files that contain markers. These
text files are processed by the template system built into MySQL Workbench, and the markers replaced by
actual data. The output files are then generated. It is these output files, typically HTML or text, that are then
viewed by the user.
Markers can be any of the following types:
• Template Include
• Comment
• Set delimiter
• Pragma
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• Variable
• Section start and Section end
The last two are the most commonly used in MySQL Workbench templates and these important markers
are briefly described in the following sections.
• Variables
Variables denoted by markers in the template file are replaced by their corresponding data prior to the
generated output file. The mapping between variables and their corresponding data is stored by MySQL
Workbench in a data dictionary. In the data dictionary, the variable name is the key and the variable's
corresponding data is the value. MySQL Workbench builds the data dictionaries and fills it with the data
contained in the processed model.
By way of example, the following code snippet shows part of a template file:
Total number of Schemas: {{SCHEMA_COUNT}}
In the generated output file, the variable {{SCHEMA_COUNT}} is replaced by the number of schemata in
the model:
Total number of Schemas: 2
A variable can appear multiple times in the template file.
• Sections
Sections are used to perform iteration in the templates. When MySQL Workbench exchanges the
variables in a section for data, it does so iteratively, using all data in the data dictionary in which the
variable is defined. MySQL Workbench builds the data dictionaries according to the model currently
being processed.
Consider the following code snippet:

{{#SCHEMATA}}
Schema: {{SCHEMA_NAME}}
{{/SCHEMATA}}
In the preceding snippet, the section start and end are indicated by the {{#SCHEMATA}} and {{/
SCHEMATA}} markers. When MySQL Workbench processes the template, it notes the section and
iterates it until the variable data for {{SCHEMA_NAME}} in the corresponding data dictionary is
exhausted. For example, if the model being processed contains two schemas, the output for the section
might resemble the following:
Schema: Airlines
Schema: Airports
Data Dictionaries
It is important to understand the relationship between sections and data dictionaries in more detail. In a
data dictionary the key for a variable is the variable name, a marker. The variable value is the variable's
data. The entry for a section in a data dictionary is different. For a section entry in a data dictionary, the key
is the section name, the marker. However, the value associated with the key is a list of data dictionaries. In
MySQL Workbench each section is usually associated with a data dictionary. You can think of a section as
activating its associated dictionary (or dictionaries).
When a template is processed, data dictionaries are loaded in a hierarchical pattern, forming a tree of data
dictionaries. This is illustrated by the following table.
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Table 9.1 Data Dictionaries Tree
Data Dictionary Loads Data Dictionary

MAIN SCHEMATA
SCHEMATA TABLES, COLUMNS (Detailed is true), FOREIGN_KEYS (Detailed is
true), INDICES (Detailed is true)
TABLES REL_LISTING, INDICES_LISTING, COLUMNS_LISTING,
TABLE_COMMENT_LISTING, DDL_LISTING
COLUMNS_LISTING COLUMNS (Detailed is false)
REL_LISTING REL (Detailed is false)
INDICES_LISTING INDICES (Detailed is false)
The root of the tree is the main dictionary. Additional dictionaries are loaded from the root to form the
dictionary tree.
Note
If a template has no sections, any variables used in the template are looked up in
the main dictionary. If a variable is not found in the main dictionary (which can be
thought of as associated with the default, or main, section), no data is generated in
the output file for that marker.
Evaluation of variables
The tree structure of the data dictionaries is important with respect to variable evaluation. As variables are
defined in data dictionaries, their associated values have meaning only when that particular data dictionary
is active, and that means when the section associated with that data dictionary is active. When a variable
lookup occurs, the system checks the data dictionary associated with the current section. If the variable
value can be found there, the replacement is made. However, if the variable's value is not found in the
current data dictionary, the parent data dictionary is checked for the variable's value, and so on up the tree
until the main data dictionary, or root, is reached.
Suppose that we want to display the names of all columns in a model. Consider the following template as
an attempt to achieve this:
Report
------
Column Name: {{COLUMN_NAME}}
This template produces no output, even for a model that contains one or more columns. In this example,
the only data dictionary active is the main dictionary. However, COLUMN_NAME is stored in the COLUMNS
data dictionary, which is associated with the COLUMNS section.
With this knowledge, the template can be improved as follows:

Report
------
{{#COLUMNS}}
{{/COLUMNS}}
This still does not produce output. To see why, see Table 9.1, “Data Dictionaries Tree”. The COLUMNS data
dictionary has the parent dictionary COLUMNS_LISTING. COLUMNS_LISTING has the parent TABLES,
which has the parent SCHEMATA, whose parent is the main dictionary. Remember that for a dictionary to be
involved in variable lookup, its associated section must currently be active.
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Supported Template Markers
To achieve the desired output, the template must be something like the following:
Report
------
{{#SCHEMATA}}
{{#TABLES}}
{{#COLUMNS_LISTING}}
{{#COLUMNS}}
{{/COLUMNS}}
{{/COLUMNS_LISTING}}
{{/TABLES}}
{{/SCHEMATA}}
The following template is the same, but with explanatory comments added:
Report
------
{{! Main dictionary active}}

{{#SCHEMATA}} {{! SCHEMATA dictionary active}}
{{#TABLES}} {{! TABLES dictionary active}}
{{#COLUMNS_LISTING}} {{! COLUMNS_LISTING dictionary active}}
{{#COLUMNS}} {{! COLUMNS dictionary active}}
Column Name: {{COLUMN_NAME}} {{! COLUMN_NAME variable is looked-up,
and found, in COLUMNS data dictionary}}
{{/COLUMNS}}
{{/TABLES}}
{{/SCHEMATA}}
Imagine now that for each column name displayed you also wanted to display its corresponding schema
name, the template would look like this:
Report
------
{{#SCHEMATA}}
{{#TABLES}}
{{#COLUMNS_LISTING}}
{{#COLUMNS}}
Schema Name: {{SCHEMA_NAME}} Column Name: {{COLUMN_NAME}}
{{/COLUMNS}}
{{/TABLES}}
{{/SCHEMATA}}
When variable lookup is performed for SCHEMA_NAME, the COLUMNS dictionary is checked. As the variable
is not found there the parent dictionary will be checked, COLUMNS_LISTING, and so on, until the variable
is eventually found where it is held, in the SCHEMATA dictionary.
If there are multiple schemata in the model, the outer section is iterated over a matching number of times,
and SCHEMA_NAME accordingly has the correct value on each iteration.
It's important to always consider which dictionary must be active (and which parents) for a variable to be
evaluated correctly. The following section has a table that helps you identify section requirements.
9.7.1 Supported Template Markers

The following table shows the supported markers. These markers can be used in any template, including
custom templates.
Using the table
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The table shows which variables are defined in which sections. The variable should be used in its correct
section or its value will not be displayed. If a variable type is a variable, then the table describes its data
dictionary, and a parent dictionary if type is a section. Also remember that the data dictionaries used to
perform variable lookups form a hierarchical tree, so it is possible to use a variable in a child section that is
defined in a parent section.
Table 9.2 Supported Template Markers
Marker text Type Data Dictionary or Parent Corresponding data

Dictionary
TITLE Variable MAIN Title of the report
GENERATED Variable MAIN Date and time when the report
was generated
STYLE_NAME Variable MAIN The name of the style selected
in MySQL Workbench, this
is typically used to load the
corresponding CSS file,
depending on the name of
the style selected in MySQL
Workbench
SCHEMA_COUNT Variable MAIN The number of schemata in
the model
PROJECT_TITLE Variable MAIN Project title as set for
the model in Document
Properties
PROJECT_NAME Variable MAIN Project name as set for
Properties
PROJECT_AUTHOR Variable MAIN Project author as set for
Properties
PROJECT_VERSION Variable MAIN Project version as set for
Properties
PROJECT_DESCRIPTION Variable MAIN Project description as set
for the model in Document
Properties
PROJECT_CREATED Variable MAIN Automatically set for the model
project, but as displayed in
Document Properties
PROJECT_CHANGED Variable MAIN Automatically set for the model
project, but as displayed in
Document Properties
TOTAL_TABLE_COUNT Variable MAIN The number of tables in all
schemata in the model
TOTAL_COLUMN_COUNT Variable MAIN The number of columns in all
tables in all schemata in the
model
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Dictionary
TOTAL_INDEX_COUNT Variable MAIN The number of indexes in the
model
TOTAL_FK_COUNT Variable MAIN The number of foreign keys in
the model
SCHEMATA Section MAIN Used to mark the start and end
of a SCHEMATA section; the
SCHEMATA data dictionary
becomes active in this section
SCHEMA_NAME Variable SCHEMATA The schema name
SCHEMA_ID Variable SCHEMATA The schema ID
TABLE_COUNT Variable SCHEMATA The number of tables in the
current schema
COLUMN_COUNT Variable SCHEMATA The number of columns in the
current schema
INDICES_COUNT Variable SCHEMATA The number of indexes in the
current schema
FOREIGN_KEYS_COUNT Variable SCHEMATA The number of foreign keys in
the current schema
TABLES Section SCHEMATA Marks the start and end of a
TABLES section; the TABLES
data dictionary becomes active
in this section
TABLE_NAME Variable TABLES The table name
TABLE_ID Variable TABLES The table ID
COLUMNS_LISTING Section TABLES Marks the start and end of a
COLUMNS_LISTING section;
the COLUMNS_LISTING data
dictionary becomes active in
this section
COLUMNS Section COLUMNS_LISTING Marks the start and end of
a COLUMNS section; the
COLUMNS data dictionary
COLUMN_KEY Variable COLUMNS Whether the column is a
primary key
COLUMN_NAME Variable COLUMNS The column name
COLUMN_DATATYPE Variable COLUMNS The column data type
COLUMN_NOTNULL Variable COLUMNS Whether the column permits
NULL values
COLUMN_DEFAULTVALUE Variable COLUMNS The column default value
COLUMN_COMMENT Variable COLUMNS The column comment
COLUMN_ID Variable COLUMNS The column ID
COLUMN_KEY_PART Variable COLUMNS (if detailed) The column key type
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Dictionary
COLUMN_NULLABLE Variable COLUMNS (if detailed) Can the column contain NULL
values
COLUMN_AUTO_INC Variable COLUMNS (if detailed) Does the column auto-
increment
COLUMN_CHARSET Variable COLUMNS (if detailed) The column character set
COLUMN_COLLATION Variable COLUMNS (if detailed) The column collation
COLUMN_IS_USERTYPE Variable COLUMNS (if detailed) Whether the column is a user
type
INDICES_LISTING Section TABLES Marks the start and end of an
INDICES_LISTING section;
the INDICES_LISTING data
this section
INDICES Section INDICES_LISTING Marks the start and end of
an INDICES section; the
INDICES data dictionary
INDEX_NAME Variable INDICES The index name
INDEX_PRIMARY Variable INDICES Whether this is a primary key
INDEX_UNIQUE Variable INDICES Whether this is a unique index
INDEX_TYPE Variable INDICES The index type; for example,
PRIMARY
INDEX_KIND Variable INDICES The index kind
INDEX_COMMENT Variable INDICES The index comment
INDEX_ID Variable INDICES The index ID
INDEX_COLUMNS Section INDICES Marks the start and end of an
INDEX_COLUMNS section;
the INDEX_COLUMNS data
this section
INDEX_COLUMN_NAME Variable INDEX_COLUMNS The index column name
INDEX_COLUMN_ORDER Variable INDEX_COLUMNS The index column order;
for example, ascending,
descending
INDEX_COLUMN_COMMENT Variable INDEX_COLUMNS The index comment
INDEX_KEY_BLOCK_SIZE Variable INDEX_COLUMNS (if The index key-block size
detailed)
REL_LISTING Section TABLES Marks the start and end of a
REL_LISTING section; the
REL_LISTING data dictionary
REL Section REL_LISTING Marks the start and end of a
REL section; the REL data
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Creating a Custom Template

Dictionary
this section
REL_NAME Variable REL, FOREIGN_KEYS The relationship name
REL_TYPE Variable REL, FOREIGN_KEYS The relationship type
REL_PARENTTABLE Variable REL, FOREIGN_KEYS The relationship parent table
REL_CHILDTABLE Variable REL, FOREIGN_KEYS The relationship child table
REL_CARD Variable REL, FOREIGN_KEYS The relationship cardinality
FOREIGN_KEY_ID Variable REL Foreign key ID
FOREIGN_KEYS Section SCHEMATA Marks the start and end of
a FOREIGN_KEYS section;
the FOREIGN_KEYS data
this section
FK_DELETE_RULE Variable FOREIGN_KEYS The foreign key delete rule
FK_UPDATE_RULE Variable FOREIGN_KEYS The foreign key update rule
FK_MANDATORY Variable FOREIGN_KEYS Whether the foreign key is
mandatory
TABLE_COMMENT_LISTING Section TABLES Marks the start and end of a
TABLE_COMMENT_LISTING
section; the
TABLE_COMMENT_LISTING
data dictionary becomes active
in this section
TABLE_COMMENT Variable TABLE_COMMENT_LISTING The table comment
DDL_LISTING Section TABLES Marks the start and end of a
DDL_LISTING section; the
DDL_LISTING data dictionary
DDL_SCRIPT Variable DDL_LISTING Display the DDL script of
the currently active entity;
for example, SCHEMATA,
TABLES
9.7.2 Creating a Custom Template

In the simplest case, a template consists of two files: a template file, which has a .tpl extension, and
a special file info.xml. The info.xml file has important metadata about the template. A third file is
optional, which is the preview image file. This preview file provides a thumbnail image illustrating the
appearance of the generated report.
One of the easiest ways to create a custom template is to make a copy of any existing template.
For example, the following procedure describes how to make a custom template based on the Text
Basic template.
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1. Navigate to the folder where the templates are stored. Assuming that MySQL Workbench has been
installed into the default location on Windows, this would be C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL
Workbench 5.0 SE\modules\data\wb_model_reporting.
2. Copy the Text_Basic.tpl folder. The copy can be given any suitable name; for example,
Custom_Basic.tpl.
3. Edit the info.xml file to reflect your custom template. The unedited file in this case is shown here:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<data>
<value type="object" struct-name="workbench.model.reporting.TemplateInfo"
id="{BD6879ED-814C-4CA3-A869-9864F83B88DF}" struct-checksum="0xb46b524d">
<value type="string" key="description">
A basic TEXT report listing schemata and objects.
</value>
<value type="string" key="name">HTML Basic Frame Report</value>
<value type="list" content-type="object"
content-struct-name="workbench.model.reporting.TemplateStyleInfo"
key="styles">
<value type="object" struct-name="workbench.model.reporting.TemplateStyleInfo"
id="{7550655C-CD4B-4EB1-8FAB-AAEE49B2261E}" struct-checksum="0xab08451b">
Designed to be viewed with a fixed sized font.
</value>
<value type="string" key="name">Fixed Size Font</value>
<value type="string" key="previewImageFileName">
preview_basic.png
</value>
<value type="string" key="styleTagValue">fixed</value>
</value>
</value>
<value type="string" key="mainFileName">report.txt</value>
</value>
</data>
The file defines wwo objects: the TemplateInfo object and the TemplateStyleInfo object. These
objects contain information about the template that will be displayed in the DBDoc Model Reporting
wizard main page.
4. Change the object GUIDs that are used in the file. In this example, there are two that need replacing:
id="{BD6879ED-814C-4CA3-A869-9864F83B88DF}"
...
id="{7550655C-CD4B-4EB1-8FAB-AAEE49B2261E}"
Generate two new GUIDS. This is done using a suitable command-line tool, and there are also free
online tools that generate GUIDs. MySQL's UUID() function also generates GUIDs:
mysql> SELECT UUID();
+--------------------------------------+
| UUID() |
+--------------------------------------+
| 648f4240-7d7a-11e0-870b-89c43de3bd0a |
+--------------------------------------+
Once you have the new GUID values, edit the info.xml file accordingly.
5. Edit the textual information for the TemplateInfo and TemplateStyleInfo objects to reflect the
purpose of the custom template.
6. The modified file will now look something like the following:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
337
<data>
<value type="object" struct-name="workbench.model.reporting.TemplateInfo"
id="{cac9ba3f-ee2a-49f0-b5f6-32580fab1640}" struct-checksum="0xb46b524d">
<value type="string"
key="description">
Custom basic TEXT report listing schemata and objects.
</value>
<value type="string" key="name">Custom Basic text report</value>
<value type="list" content-type="object"
content-struct-name="workbench.model.reporting.TemplateStyleInfo" key="styles">
<value type="object"
struct-name="workbench.model.reporting.TemplateStyleInfo"
id="{39e3b767-a832-4016-8753-b4cb93aa2dd6}" struct-checksum="0xab08451b">
Designed to be viewed with a fixed sized font.
</value>
<value type="string" key="name">Fixed Size Font</value>
<value type="string" key="previewImageFileName">preview_basic.png</value>
<value type="string" key="styleTagValue">fixed</value>
</value>
</value>
<value type="string" key="mainFileName">custom_report.txt</value>
</value>
</data>
7. Create the new template file. This too may best be achieved, depending on your requirements, by
editing an existing template. In this example the template file report.txt.tpl is shown here:
+--------------------------------------------+
| MySQL Workbench Report |
+--------------------------------------------+
Total number of Schemas: {{SCHEMA_COUNT}}

=============================================
{{#SCHEMATA}}
{{SCHEMA_NR}}. Schema: {{SCHEMA_NAME}}
----------------------------------------------
## Tables ({{TABLE_COUNT}}) ##
{{#TABLES}}{{TABLE_NR_FMT}}. Table: {{TABLE_NAME}}
{{#COLUMNS_LISTING}}## Columns ##
Key Column Name Datatype Not Null Default Comment
{{#COLUMNS}}{{COLUMN_KEY}}{{COLUMN_NAME}}{{COLUMN_DATATYPE}} »
{{COLUMN_NOTNULL}}{{COLUMN_DEFAULTVALUE}}{{COLUMN_COMMENT}}
{{/COLUMNS}}{{/COLUMNS_LISTING}}
{{#INDICES_LISTING}}## Indices ##
Index Name Columns Primary Unique Type Kind Comment
{{#INDICES}}{{INDEX_NAME}}{{#INDICES_COLUMNS}}{{INDEX_COLUMN_NAME}} »
{{INDEX_COLUMN_ORDER}}{{INDEX_COLUMN_COMMENT}}{{/INDICES_COLUMNS}} »
{{INDEX_PRIMARY}}{{INDEX_UNIQUE}}{{INDEX_TYPE}}{{INDEX_KIND}}{{INDEX_COMMENT}}
{{/INDICES}}{{/INDICES_LISTING}}
{{#REL_LISTING}}## Relationships ##
Relationship Name Relationship Type Parent Table Child Table Cardinality
{{#REL}}{{REL_NAME}}{{REL_TYPE}}{{REL_PARENTTABLE}}{{REL_CHILDTABLE}}{{REL_CARD}}
{{/REL}}{{/REL_LISTING}}
---------------------------------------------
{{/TABLES}}
{{/SCHEMATA}}
=============================================
End of MySQL Workbench Report
This template shows details for all schemata in the model.
8. The preceding template file can be edited in any way you like, with new markers being added, and
existing markers being removed as required. For the custom template example, you might want to
create a much simpler template, such as the one following:
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+--------------------------------------------+
| MySQL Workbench Custom Report |
+--------------------------------------------+
Total number of Schemata: {{SCHEMA_COUNT}}

=============================================
{{#SCHEMATA}}
Schema Name: {{SCHEMA_NAME}}
----------------------------------------------
## Tables ({{TABLE_COUNT}}) ##
{{#TABLES}}
Table Name: {{TABLE_NAME}}
{{/TABLES}}
{{/SCHEMATA}}
Report Generated On: {{GENERATED}}

=============================================
End of MySQL Workbench Custom Report
This simplified report just lists the schemata and the tables in a model. The date and time the report
was generated is also displayed as a result of the use of the {{GENERATED}} variable.
9. The custom template can then be tested. Start MySQL Workbench, load the model to generate the
report for, select the Model, DBDOC - Model Reporting menu item. Then select the new custom
template from the list of available templates, select an output directory, and click Finish to generate the
report. Finally, navigate to the output directory to view the finished report.
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Chapter 10 Database Migration Wizard
Table of Contents
10.1 General Installation Requirements ........................................................................................... 342
10.1.1 ODBC Libraries ............................................................................................................ 342
10.1.2 ODBC Drivers .............................................................................................................. 343
10.2 Migration Overview ................................................................................................................. 344
10.2.1 A Visual Guide to Performing a Database Migration ....................................................... 344
10.2.2 Migrating from Supported Databases ............................................................................ 362
10.2.3 Migrating from Unsupported (Generic) Databases .......................................................... 363
10.3 Conceptual DBMS Equivalents ................................................................................................ 363
10.4 Microsoft Access Migration ...................................................................................................... 365
10.5 Microsoft SQL Server Migration ............................................................................................... 382
10.5.1 Preparations ................................................................................................................ 382
10.5.2 Drivers ......................................................................................................................... 382
10.5.3 Connection Setup ......................................................................................................... 386
10.5.4 Microsoft SQL Server Type Mapping ............................................................................. 389
10.6 PostgreSQL migration ............................................................................................................. 390
10.6.1 Preparations ................................................................................................................ 390
10.6.2 Drivers ......................................................................................................................... 391
10.6.3 Connection Setup ......................................................................................................... 392
10.6.4 PostgreSQL Type Mapping ........................................................................................... 393
10.7 MySQL Migration .................................................................................................................... 395
10.8 Using the MySQL Workbench Migration Wizard ....................................................................... 399
10.8.1 Connecting to the Databases ........................................................................................ 399
10.8.2 Schema Retrieval and Selection ................................................................................... 401
10.8.3 Reverse Engineering .................................................................................................... 403
10.8.4 Object Selection ........................................................................................................... 404
10.8.5 Migration ...................................................................................................................... 405
10.8.6 Manual Editing ............................................................................................................. 406
10.8.7 Target Creation Options ............................................................................................... 409
10.8.8 Schema Creation ......................................................................................................... 410
10.8.9 Create Target Results .................................................................................................. 411
10.8.10 Data Transfer and Migration Setup ............................................................................. 412
10.8.11 Bulk Data Transfer ..................................................................................................... 413
10.8.12 Migration Report ......................................................................................................... 414
10.9 MySQL Workbench Migration Wizard FAQ ............................................................................... 415
MySQL Workbench provides the ability to migrate ODBC-compliant databases to MySQL.
• Convert (migrate) different database types, including MySQL, across servers.
• Convert tables and copy data, but will not convert stored procedures, views, or triggers.
• Allows customization and editing during the migration process.
• Works on Linux, macOS, and Microsoft Windows.
This is not an exhaustive list. The following sections discuss these and additional migration capabilities.
Setup may be the most challenging aspect of using the MySQL Workbench Migration Wizard. There is
the installation section, which describes setting up ODBC requirements for Linux, macOS, and Microsoft
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General Installation Requirements
Windows, and the Database Product Specific Notes section that references setup conditions for each
RDBMS.
10.1 General Installation Requirements

The MySQL Workbench Migration Wizard uses ODBC to connect to a source database, except for MySQL.
You will need the ODBC driver installed that corresponds to the database you want to migrate from. For
example, PostgreSQL can be migrated with the psqlodbc ODBC driver; Microsoft SQL Server can be
migrated using the native Microsoft SQL Server driver on Windows or with FreeTDS on Linux and macOS.
The following figure shows the general components involved in an ODBC connection: An ODBC driver for
MySQL server and the other relational database management system, the ODBC Driver Manager, and
MySQL Workbench.
Figure 10.1 MySQL Workbench migration installation diagram
When specifying the source RDBMS, you can either use a data source configured externally or provide
the individual connection parameters to MySQL Workbench. If you already have an ODBC Data Source
configured in your system, then you can use that in MySQL Workbench.
Note
The migration process does not support source or target RDBMS connections
through SSH.
A workaround is to set up an encrypted tunnel, and then treat the MySQL target as
a standard TCP (unencrypted) connection.
10.1.1 ODBC Libraries

Note
This section may be skipped when using a MySQL Workbench binary that is
provided by Oracle.
An ODBC Driver Manager library must be present. Both Windows and macOS provide one.
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ODBC Drivers
Linux
iODBC: MySQL Workbench binaries provided by Oracle already include iODBC and no additional action
is required. If you compile it yourself, you must install iODBC or unixODBC. iODBC is recommended. You
can use the iODBC library provided by your distribution by installing the libiodbc2 package on Debian
based systems, or libiodbc on RPM based systems.
pyodbc: is the Python module used by MySQL Workbench to interface with ODBC, and may be used to
migrate ODBC compliant databases such as PostgreSQL and DB2. In Windows and macOS, it is included
with Workbench. In Linux, binaries provided by Oracle also include pyodbc.
If you're using a self-compiled binary, make sure you have the latest version, and that it is compiled against
the ODBC manager library that you chose, whether it is iODBC or unixODBC. As of version 3.0.6, pyodbc
will compile against unixODBC by default. If you are compiling against iODBC then you must perform the
following steps:
1. For compiling, make sure you have the iODBC headers installed. For Linux, the name depends on
your system's package manager but common names are libiodbc-devel (RPM based systems)
or libiodbc2-dev (Debian based systems). For macOS, the headers come with the system and no
additional action is required for this step.
2. In the pyodbc source directory, edit the setup.py file and around line 157,
replace the following line: settings['libraries'].append('odbc') with
settings['libraries'].append('iodbc')
3. Execute the following command as the root user: CFLAGS=ìodbc-config --cflags`

LDFLAGS=ìodbc-config --libs` python setup.py install
10.1.2 ODBC Drivers

For each RDBMS, you need its corresponding ODBC driver, which must also be installed on the
same machine that MySQL Workbench is running on. This driver is usually provided by the RDBMS
manufacturer, but in some cases they can also be provided by third party vendors or open source projects.
Operating systems usually provide a graphical interface to help set up ODBC drivers and data sources.
Use that to install the driver (i.e., make the ODBC Manager "see" a newly installed ODBC driver). You can
also use it to create a data source for a specific database instance, to be connected using a previously
configured driver. Typically you need to provide a name for the data source (the DSN), in addition to the
database server IP, port, username, and sometimes the database the user has access to.
If MySQL Workbench is able to locate an ODBC manager GUI for your system, the Open ODBC
Administrator button on the migration wizard's overview page will open it.
• Linux: There are a few GUI utilities, some of which are included with unixODBC. Refer to the
documentation for your distribution. iODBC provides iodbcadm-gtk.
• macOS: You can use the ODBC Administrator tool that is separate download from Apple, or an ODBC
Management tool from a different vendor. If the tool is installed in the /Applications/Utilities
folder, you can start it using the Open ODBC Administrator button.
• Microsoft Windows: You can use the Data Sources (ODBC) tool under Administrative Tools. If
present, the Open ODBC Administrator button will start it.
ODBC Driver architecture
Since the ODBC driver needs to be installed in the client side, you will need an
ODBC driver that supports your clients operating system and architecture. For
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Migration Overview
example, if you are running MySQL Workbench from Linux x64, then you need a
Linux x64 ODBC driver for your RDBMS. In macOS, MySQL Workbench is built as
a 32-bit application, so you need the 32-bit drivers.
10.2 Migration Overview

The Migration Wizard performs the following steps when migrating a database to MySQL:
1. Connects to the source RDBMS and retrieves a list of available databases/schemas.
2. Reverse engineers selected database/schemas into a internal representation specific to the source
RDBMS. This step will also perform the renaming of objects/schemas depending on the type of object
name mapping method that is chosen.
3. Automatically migrates the source RDBMS objects into MySQL specific objects.
a. Target schema objects are created.
b. Target table objects are created.
i. Columns for each table are copied.
A. Data types are mapped to MySQL data types.
B. Default values are mapped to a MySQL supported default value, if possible.
ii. Indexes are converted.
iii. Primary Keys are converted.
iv. Triggers are copied, and commented out if the source is not MySQL.
c. Foreign Keys for all tables (of all schemas) are converted.
d. View objects are copied, and commented out if the source is not MySQL.
e. Stored Procedure and Function objects are copied, and commented out if the source is not MySQL.
4. Provides an opportunity to review the changes, for editing and correcting errors in the migrated objects.
5. Creates the migrated objects in the target MySQL server. If there are errors, you can return to the
previous step and correct them, and retry the target creation.
6. Copy data of the migrated tables from the source RDBMS to MySQL.
MySQL Workbench provides support for migrating from some specific RDBMS products. The Migration
Wizard will provide the best results when migrating from such products. However, in some cases, other
unsupported database products can also be migrated by using its Generic database support, as long as
you have an ODBC driver for it. In this case, the migration will be less automatic, but should still work
nonetheless.
10.2.1 A Visual Guide to Performing a Database Migration

This example migrates a Microsoft SQL Server database to MySQL and includes an image for each step.
From MySQL Workbench, choose Database and then Migrate to open the migration wizard and display
the migration wizard overview (see the figure that follows).
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A Visual Guide to Performing a Database Migration
Overview
Figure 10.2 MySQL Workbench migration: Overview
It describes the prerequisites and requirements that should be understood before proceeding further. The
Open ODBC Administrator option will load odbcad32.exe, and is used to confirm that the ODBC Driver
for SQL Server is installed, and to make configuration changes if needed.
Click Start Migration to continue.
Source Selection
Select the source RDBMS that is migrating to MySQL. Choose the Database System that is being
migrated and the other connection parameters will change accordingly. The following figure shows an
example of the connection session.
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Figure 10.3 MySQL Workbench migration: Source Selection (Parameters)
Target Selection
The target is the MySQL database that will contain the newly migrated database (see the figure that
follows). The current Workbench MySQL connections will be available here, or you can choose Manage
DB Connections to create a new connection.
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Figure 10.4 MySQL Workbench migration: Target selection
Fetch Schemas List
The Schemas list is retrieved from both the source and target RDBMS (see the figure that follows). This is
an automated and informational step that reports connection related errors and/or general log information.
Click Next to continue.
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Figure 10.5 MySQL Workbench migration: Fetch Schemas List
Schemas Selection
Choose the schemas you want to migrate.
"Schema Name Mapping Method" options while migrating Microsoft SQL Server:
• Keep schemas as they are: Catalog.Schema.Table -> Schema.Table: This will create multiple
databases, one per schema.
• Only one schema: Catalog.Schema.Table -> Catalog.Table: Merges each schema into a single
database. The following figure shows an example of this mapping method.
• Only one schema, keep current schema names as a prefix: Catalog.Schema.Table ->
Catalog.Schema_table: Preserves the schema name as a prefix.
348
Figure 10.6 MySQL Workbench migration: Schemas Selection
Reverse Engineer Source
The source metadata is fetched from the source RDBMS and then is reverse-engineered. This is an
automated and informational step that reports related errors, general log information, or both (see the
figure that follows). View the logs and then click Next to continue.
349
Figure 10.7 MySQL Workbench migration: Reverse Engineer Source
Source Objects
The discovered objects from the Reverse Engineer Source stage are revealed and made available. As
the next figure shows, the results include Table, View, and Routine objects, with only the Table objects
being selected by default.
350
Figure 10.8 MySQL Workbench migration: Source Objects
Migration
The migration process now converts the selected objects into MySQL compatible objects (see the figure
that follows). View the logs and then proceed.
351
Figure 10.9 MySQL Workbench migration: Migration
Manual Editing
There are three sections to edit, which are selected by using the View select box on the top right. The
Show Code and Messages button is available with every view and it will show the generated MySQL
code that corresponds to the selected object.
• Migration Problems: This will either report problems or display "No mapping problems found." It is an
informational screen. The following figure shows an example of this type of message.
352
Figure 10.10 MySQL Workbench migration: Manual Editing (Migration Problems)
353
• All Objects: An object view that allows you to view and edit the object definitions. Double-click on a row
to modify a target objects name. The following figure shows an example of this type of message.
Figure 10.11 MySQL Workbench migration: Manual Editing (All Objects)
354
• Column Mappings: Shows all of the table column mappings, and allows you to individually review and
fix the mapping for all column types, default values, and other attributes. The following figure shows an
example of this type of message.
Figure 10.12 MySQL Workbench migration: Manual Editing (Column Mappings)
Target Creation Options
The schema may be created by either adding it to the target RDBMS, creating an SQL script file, or both.
The following figure shows the target creation options.
355
Figure 10.13 MySQL Workbench migration: Target Creation Options
Create Schema
Now the schema is created (see the figure that follows). The complete log is also available here.
356
Figure 10.14 MySQL Workbench migration: Create Schema
Create Target Results
The generated objects in this example are listed in the figure that follows, along with the error messages if
any exist.
The migration code may also be viewed and edited here. To make changes, select an object, edit the
query code and then click Apply. Repeat this process for each object that will be edited. Finally, click
Recreate Objects to save the results.
Note
The Recreate Objects operation is required to save any changes here. It will then
execute the previous migration step (Create Schema) with the modified code, and
then continue the migration process. This also means that the previously saved
schema will be dropped.
357
Figure 10.15 MySQL Workbench Migration: Create Target Results
Data Transfer Setup

The next step transfers data from the source RDBMS to the target MySQL database. The setup screen
includes the following options:
Data Copy:
• Online copy of table data to target RDBMS: This method (default) will copy the data to the target
RDBMS.
• Create a batch file to copy the data at another time: The data may also be dumped to a file that can
be executed at a later time, or be used as a backup. This script uses a MySQL connection to transfer the
data.
• Create a shell script to use native server dump and load abilities for fast migration: Unlike the
simple batch file that performs a live online copy, this generates a script to be executed on the source
host to then generate a Zip file containing all of the data and information needed to migrate the data
locally on the target host. Copy and extract the generated Zip file on the target host and then execute the
import script (on the target host) to import the data into MySQL using a LOAD DATA call.
This faster method avoids the need to traffic all data through MySQL Workbench, or to have a
permanent network connection between the MySQL servers.
Note
This option was added in MySQL Workbench 6.3.0.
358
Options (see the figure that follows for an example):
• Truncate target tables before copying data: In case the target database already exists, this will delete
said data.
• Worker tasks: The default value is 2. This is the number of tasks (database connections) used while
copying the data.
• Enable debug output for table copy: Shows debugging information.
Figure 10.16 MySQL Workbench Migration: Data Transfer Setup
Bulk Data Transfer
Depending on the selected option, this will either transfer the data to the target RDMS (default), generate
a simple script for the online data transfer, or generate script to execute on the source host that then
generates a Zip file containing both the transfer script and data that will be executed on the target host.
Optionally, view the logs to confirm (see the figure that follows).
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Figure 10.17 MySQL Workbench Migration: Bulk Data Transfer
Migration Report
And finally, the migration report is available and summarizes the entire migration process as depicted in
the following figure.
360
Figure 10.18 MySQL Workbench Migration: Migration Report
Clicking Finish will close the migration window. If you chose the online copy then the database can now be
viewed within the MySQL Workbench SQL editor as the following figure shows.
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Migrating from Supported Databases
Figure 10.19 MySQL Workbench Migration: Viewing the Migrated Database
Note
If a MySQL Workbench SQL Editor tab is already opened, then the schema list
within the Object Browser must be refreshed in order to view the newly imported
schema.
10.2.2 Migrating from Supported Databases

When a supported RDBMS product is being migrated, the MySQL Workbench Migration Wizard will
automatically convert as much information as it can, but you may still be required to manually edit the
automatically migrated schema for difficult cases, or when the default mapping is not as desired.
Generally speaking, only table information and its data are automatically converted to MySQL. Code
objects such as views, stored procedures, and triggers, are not. But supported RDBMS products will be
retrieved and displayed in the wizard. You can then manually convert them, or save them for converting at
a later time.
The following RDBMS products and versions are currently tested and supported by the MySQL Workbench
Migration Wizard, although other RDBMS products can also be migrated with Section 10.2.3, “Migrating
from Unsupported (Generic) Databases”:
• Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and later
362
Migrating from Unsupported (Generic) Databases
• Microsoft Access 2007 and later
• MySQL Server 5.6 and higher as the source, and MySQL Server 5.6 and higher as the target
• PostgreSQL 8.0 and later
• SQL Anywhere
• SQLite
• Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise 15.x and later
10.2.3 Migrating from Unsupported (Generic) Databases

Most ODBC compliant databases may be migrated using the generic database support. In this case, code
objects will not be retrieved from the source database; only tables and data.
When using the generic support, column data types are mapped using the following steps:
1. It searches for the first entry in the Generic Datatype Mapping Table for the source type name. If
the length/scale ranges of the entry matches the source column, it will pick that type. Otherwise, it
continues searching.
2. If no matches were found in the generic table, then it tries to directly map the source type to a MySQL
type of the same name.
3. If the source type name doesn't match any of the MySQL data types, then it is not converted and an
error is logged. From here you can specify the target datatype in the Manual Object Editing step of the
wizard.
10.3 Conceptual DBMS Equivalents

The following table shows a comparison between each DBMS product supported by the Migration Wizard
and MySQL.
Table 10.1 Conceptual equivalents between supported DBMS products and MySQL
Concept MS SQL Sybase PostgreSQL
MySQL Note
Server ASE
Authentication Yes Yes Yes Yes
Auto_Increment Yes Yes Yes Yes PostgreSQL uses sequences for
Auto_Increment.
Backup Yes Yes Yes Yes See MySQL Enterprise Backup.
Catalog Yes Yes Yes N/A You can map a catalog into a
schema and drop the ownerobject,
use the owner as the schema name,
or merge the owner and object
name together.
Constraints Yes Yes Yes Yes
Data Dictionary N/A
Database Yes Yes Yes Yes
Database Instance
Dump Yes Yes Yes Yes mysqldump
Events Yes Yes Yes Yes
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Conceptual DBMS Equivalents

MySQL Note
Server ASE
Foreign Keys Yes Yes Yes Yes
Full Text Search Yes Yes Yes Yes In InnoDB as of MySQL Server 5.6,
and in all versions of MyISAM.
Index Yes Yes Yes Yes
Information Schema Yes No Yes Yes
Object Names Case Depends Depends Mixed Mixed MySQL: sensitivity of database,
Sensitivity on on table, and trigger names OS
collation collation dependent; other object names are
not case-sensitive. PostgreSQL: as
specified in the SQL-99 standard,
unquoted object names are treated
as not case-sensitive while quoted
object names are case-sensitive.
Unlike the standard, unquoted
object names are converted to
lowercase instead of uppercase.
Object Naming Yes Yes Yes Yes
Conventions
Packages N/A N/A N/A N/A
Partitioning Yes Yes Yes Yes
Performance Schema N/A N/A Yes Yes
Permissions Yes Yes Yes Yes
Primary Key Yes Yes Yes Yes
Referential Integrity Yes Yes Yes Yes Sybase ASE: referential integrity
only through triggers.
Replication Yes Yes Yes Yes
Role Yes Yes Yes N/A Roles are not available in MySQL at
the database level.
Schema Yes Yes* Yes Yes Equivalent to database in MySQL.
Sybase ASE: Schemas corresponds
to user names.
Sequences Yes* Yes* Yes Yes* Standalone sequence objects are
not supported in MySQL. Similar
functionality can be obtained with
IDENTITY columns in MSSQL and
AUTO_INCREMENT columns in
MySQL.
SQL Modes Yes Yes Yes SET_ANSI_* in MSSQL
Storage Engines N/A N/A Yes* Yes PostgreSQL itself supports and
uses only one storage engine
(Postgresql). Other companies have
added extra storage engines to
PostgreSQL.
Stored Procedures Yes Yes Yes Yes
364
Microsoft Access Migration

MySQL Note
Server ASE
Synonyms N/A N/A N/A N/A
Table Yes Yes Yes Yes
Tablespace Yes Yes* Yes N/A MSSQL groups tables in schemas
(unless referring to CREATE
TABLESPACE). Sybase ASE:
tables are grouped in schemas that
are more like user names.
Temporary Tables Yes Yes Yes Yes
Transactions Yes Yes Yes Yes
Triggers Yes Yes Yes Yes
UDFs Yes Yes Yes Yes
Unicode Yes Yes Yes Yes
Unique Key Yes Yes Yes Yes
User Yes Yes Yes Yes
Views Yes Yes Yes Yes
Handling Microsoft SQL Server and MySQL structural differences
A Microsoft SQL Server database is made up of one catalog and one or more
schemas. MySQL only supports one schema for each database (or rather, a
MySQL database is a schema) so this difference in design must be planned for.
The Migration Wizard must know how to handle the migration of schemas for the
source (Microsoft SQL Server) database. It can either keep all of the schemas as
they are (the Migration Wizard will create one database per schema), or merge
them into a single MySQL database. Additional configure options include: either
remove the schema names (the Migration Wizard will handle the possible name
collisions that may appear along the way), and an option to add the schema name
to the database object names as a prefix.
10.4 Microsoft Access Migration

Note
This feature was added in MySQL Workbench 6.2.0.
General Information
Microsoft Windows is required because Microsoft Access ODBC drivers are only available on Windows. As
for the destination MySQL server, you can have it in the same local machine or elsewhere in your network.
Preparing a Microsoft Access Database for Migration

Microsoft Access stores relationship/foreign key information in an internal table called
MSysRelationships. That table is protected against read access even to the Admin user, so if you try to
migrate without opening up access to it, then you will get an error like this:
[42000] [Microsoft][ODBC Microsoft Access Driver] Record(s) cannot be read; no read permission on 'msysobje
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Preparing a Microsoft Access Database for Migration
The steps to grant read access to the Admin role (using Microsoft Access 2007) are summarized as
follows:
• Open up database in Microsoft Access
• From the Database Tools ribbon, click the Visual Basic to open the Visual Basic (VB) console. The
following figure shows the location of this button in the Macro area.
Figure 10.20 Locating the Visual Basic Macro Database Tool
• To confirm that you're logged in as the "Admin" user, locate the Immediate panel and type the "?
CurrentUser" and press Enter. This should output "Admin" under "? CurrentUser" in the panel (see the
• Also in the Immediate panel, type the following command to grant access:
CurrentProject.Connection.Execute "GRANT SELECT ON MSysRelationships TO Admin"
Figure 10.21 GRANT SELECT ON MSysRelationships TO Admin
• Quit the Microsoft Access application
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Start the MySQL Workbench Migration Wizard
Start the MySQL Workbench Migration Wizard

From the main MySQL Workbench screen you can start the Migration Wizard by clicking the database-
migration launcher ( ) in the Workbench side panel or by clicking Database and then Migration
Wizard from the main menu. As the following figure shows, a new tab showing the Overview page of the
Migration Wizard is displayed.
Figure 10.22 Migration Overview Page
Setting Up ODBC Drivers

To verify that you have the ODBC driver installed, click Open ODBC Administrator from the MySQL
Workbench migration overview page to open the system ODBC tool. Then, select the Drivers tab (see the
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Setting Up ODBC Drivers
Figure 10.23 Checking the ODBC Drivers for Access Support
Important
MySQL Workbench has a 64-bit executable. The ODBC drivers you use must be of
the same architecture as the MySQL Workbench binaries you are using. If during
migration you get an ODBC error about "architecture mismatch between the Driver
and Application", you installed the wrong version of MySQL Workbench.
In the User DSN tab, click Add to create a DSN for your database file. As the next figure shows, a new
data source was created for the northwind database sample.
Figure 10.24 Adding a New DSN
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Setting Up Source Parameters
Setting Up Source Parameters

Click Start Migration from the Overview page to advance to the Source Selection page. Here you need
to provide the information about the Access database you are migrating from, the ODBC driver to use, and
the parameters for the Access connection.
Open the Database System combo box for a list of supported RDBMSes, and select Microsoft Access
from the list. There is another combo box below it named Stored Connection. It lists saved connection
settings for that RDBMS. You can save connections by marking the check box at the bottom of the page,
along with a name for the saved connection.
The next combo box selects the Connection Method. This time we are going to select ODBC Data Source
from the list. This allows you to select pre-existing DSNs that you have configured in your system.
The DSN drop-down list will have all DSNs you have defined in your system. Pick the one you created for
the Access database being migrated from the list.
In the Default Character Set field you can select the character set of your database (see the figure that
follows). If your Access version uses western/latin characters, you can leave the default cp1252. However,
if you use a localized version of Access, such as Japanese, you must enter the correct character set used
by your edition of Microsoft Office, otherwise the data will be copied incorrectly.
Figure 10.25 Access Source Selection
Lastly, click Test Connection to check whether an ODBC connection can be established. If you entered
the correct parameters then you should see a message reporting a successful connection attempt.
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Setting Up Target Parameters
Setting Up Target Parameters

Next, set up the target (MySQL) database parameters by defining the parameters that connect to your
MySQL Server instance. When finished, click Test Connection to verify the connection definition. The
following figure shows the Parameters tab.
Figure 10.26 Target Database Selection
Select the Objects to Migrate

Next, you should see the reverse engineering of the selected database objects progress. At this point,
the migration wizard is retrieving relevant information about the involved database objects (such as
table names, table columns, primary and foreign keys, indexes, triggers, views, and more). You will be
presented a page showing the progress as shown in the next figure.
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Figure 10.27 Reverse Engineer Source
Wait for it to finish and verify that everything went well. Next, the Source Objects displays a list with the
objects that were retrieved and are available for migration. It will look similar to the figure that follows.
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Figure 10.28 Source Objects
In the previous example, the migration wizard discovered table and view objects for our source database.
Only the table objects are selected by default for migration.
Note
You can also select the view objects but you must also provide their corresponding
MySQL equivalent code later (no automatic migration is available for them) so our
example will leave the views unchecked. The same applies for stored procedures,
functions and triggers.
Click Show Selection to configure exactly which objects you want to migrate, as the next figure shows.
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Review the Proposed Migration
Figure 10.29 Source Objects Selection
The objects on the right will be migrated. The filter box can filter the list (wildcards are allowed, as
demonstrated above). By using the arrow buttons you can filter out the objects that you do not want to
migrate. Before continuing, clear the filter text box to check the full list of the selected objects. Our example
migrates all of the table objects so all of them are in the Objects to Migrate list, and the Migrate Table
Objects check box is checked.

At this point, the migration wizard converts the selected objects into their equivalent objects into the target
MySQL server, and it also generates the MySQL code needed to create them. You might have to wait
before the Manual Editing step displays the initial page shown in the next figure.
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Figure 10.30 Manual Editing: Initial Page
The View combo box changes the way the migrated database objects are shown (see the figure that
follows). Click Show Code to view and edit the generated MySQL code that corresponds to the selected
object. Additionally, you can double-click on a row in the object tree to edit the object name, or double-click
the database row to change its name.
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Figure 10.31 Manual Editing: All Objects
The View combo box also has a Column Mappings option. As the following figure indicates, it shows the
table columns and allows you to review and fix the mapping of column types, default values, and other
attributes.
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Create the Database Objects
Figure 10.32 Manual Editing: Column Mappings

Next is the Target Creation Options page, as shown in the following figure.
376
Figure 10.33 Target Creation Options
Use target-creation options to execute the generated code in the target RDBMS (your MySQL instance
from the second step) or you can dump it to an SQL script file. Leave it as shown in the previous figure
and move to the next page. The migrated SQL code will be executed on the target MySQL server. You can
view its progress in the Create Schemas page shown in the next figure.
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Figure 10.34 Create Schemas
When the creation of the schemas and objects finishes, you can move to the Create Target Results page.
It presents a list of created objects and includes any generated errors while they were created. It will look
similar to the following figure.
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Transfer the Data to the MySQL Database
Figure 10.35 Create Target Results
You can edit the migration code using the code box to the right, and save your changes by clicking Apply.
If edits were made, you still need to recreate the objects with the modified code in order to perform the
changes. This is done by clicking Recreate Objects. In this tutorial we are not changing anything, so leave
the code as it is, and continue on to the Data Transfer Setup page.

The next step transfers data from the source Access database into your newly created target MySQL
database. The Data Transfer Setup page allows you to configure this process (see the figure that follows).
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Figure 10.36 Data Transfer Setup
There are two sets of options here. The first allows you to perform a live transference and/or to dump the
data into a batch file that you can execute later. The other set of options allows you to alter this process.
This tutorial uses the default values for the options in this page as shown in the previous figure. Next, the
data is transferred. At this point the corresponding progress page confirms the tasks being performed (see
the figure that follows).
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Verification
Figure 10.37 Bulk Data Transfer
Once it finishes, move to the next page. You will be presented a report page summarizing the whole
process. Now, review and click Finish to close the wizard.
Verification
Now that the northwind database was successfully migrated, you can view the results. Open an SQL Editor
that is associated with your MySQL server instance and then query the northwind database. For example,
execute a query like SELECT * FROM northwind.customers, which populates the result grid as
shown in the next figure.
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Microsoft SQL Server Migration
Figure 10.38 Verify Your Results
10.5 Microsoft SQL Server Migration

The MySQL Workbench Migration Wizard is tested with Microsoft SQL Server 2016.
10.5.1 Preparations
To migrate schemas and data from Microsoft SQL Server for use with MySQL, ensure the following:
• The source SQL Server instance is running, and accepts TCP connections.
• You know the IP and port of the source SQL server instance. If you will be migrating using a Microsoft
ODBC driver for SQL Server (the default in Windows), you will need to know the host and the name of
the SQL Server instance.
• Make sure that the SQL Server is reachable from where you will be running MySQL Workbench. More
specifically, check the firewall settings.
• Make sure that the user account has proper privileges to the database that will be migrated.
Known limitation with Ubuntu 20.04: An error related to FreeTDS/iODBC in Ubuntu prevents the
migration of Microsoft SQL Server databases to MySQL using the MySQL Workbench Migration Wizard.
10.5.2 Drivers
Microsoft Windows does not require additional drivers to be installed and configured, but Linux (and
macOS) do. The following sections include specific instructions for each type of system.
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Drivers
10.5.2.1 Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows XP and newer includes at least one ODBC driver for Microsoft SQL Server, so
additional actions are likely not required on your system. Multiple SQL Server driver options exist, as
described in this section.
You can check your ODBC driver information by starting the Windows ODBC Data Source Administrator
that is linked from the MySQL Workbench migration wizard's home page. Alternatively, open a Windows
terminal and execute odbcad32.exe. Open the Drivers tab to see something similar to the following
figure.
Figure 10.39 Windows ODBC Data Source Administrator: SQL Server Drivers
Common ODBC drivers available on Windows are:
• SQL Driver: preinstalled on Windows, but is limited to the functionality provided by SQL Server 2000. It
functions okay if your database does not use features and data types introduced after SQL Server 2000,
so it should be enough for you if your database does not make use of the new features and data types
introduced after this SQL Server version.
• SQL Server Native Client XX.X: if you have an SQL Server instance on the same machine as MySQL
Workbench, then you will also have this additional driver. This comes with SQL Server and fully supports
the companion SQL Server version. If this is not on your system then you can download and install this it
from Microsoft. For example, download the Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Feature Pack to install the Native
Client that supports SQL Server 2014 and earlier.
Note
XX.X represents the major version number for SQL Server, so an actual name
might be "SQL Server Native Client 11.0".
Decide which driver you want to use, and remember its name as shown in the ODBC Data Source
Administrator. This specific name is used in MySQL Workbench to connect your SQL Server instance.
Jump to the documentation titled Section 10.5.3, “Connection Setup”.
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Drivers
10.5.2.2 Linux
Setting up drivers on Linux.
FreeTDS
FreeTDS version 0.92 or greater is required. Many distributions ship older versions of FreeTDS, so it may
need to be installed separately. Additionally, the FreeTDS version provided by distributions may also be
compiled for the wrong ODBC library (usually to unixODBC instead of iODBC, which MySQL Workbench
uses). Because of that, you will probably need to build this library yourself.
A script is provided to compile FreeTDS using the options required for MySQL Workbench. You
can find it at /usr/share/mysql-workbench/extras/build_freetds.sh on Linux or
MySQLWorkbench.app/Contents/SharedSupport/build_freetds.sh on macOS. To use it, follow
these steps:
Using FreeTDS with iODBC
When compiling FreeTDS for use with iODBC (the default with the official binaries),
it must be compiled with the --enable-odbc-wide command line. Failing
to do so will result in crashes and other unpredictable errors. The provided
build_freetds.sh script does this for you.
1. For compiling, make sure you have the iODBC headers installed. For Linux, the name depends on
your system's package manager but common names are libiodbc-devel (RPM based systems)
or libiodbc2-dev (Debian based systems). For macOS, the headers come with the system and no
additional action is required for this step.
Note
If you are using Oracle Enterprise Linux, RedHat, CentOS, and similar, you
must have the EPEL repository set up in yum for it to find the libiodbc-
devel package. For additional information about this step, see Installing Oracle
Enterprise Linux and Similar.
2. mkdir ~/freetds to create a directory - within the users home directory.
3. Copy the build_freetds.sh script to ~/freetds
4. Get the latest FreeTDS sources from ftp://ftp.freetds.org/pub/freetds/ and place the .tar.gz source
file into the ~/freetds directory. Make sure to get FreeTDS version 0.92 or newer.
5. cd ~/freetds
6. Execute build_freetds.sh
7. After compilation is done, install it using make install from the path given by the script.
8. Install the driver using ODBC Administrator so that the ODBC subsystem recognizes it. Open ODBC
Administrator from the migration tab in MySQL Workbench (see the figure that follows).
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Drivers
Figure 10.40 Open the ODBC Administrator
The name of the driver file is libtdsodbc.so and it is located in /usr/lib or /usr/local/lib.
For example, under the ODBC Drivers tab click Add Driver and fill out the description (name) and path
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Connection Setup
to the driver file (see the figure that follows). Remember the name you define here as it will be needed
later on. Save the driver.
Figure 10.41 ODBC Driver Add/Setup
Note
Only the driver file name is required, while the setup file name can remain
undefined.
9. Close the ODBC Administrator and click Start Migration. For information about making a Microsoft
SQL Server connection using the MySQL Workbench migration wizard, see Section 10.5.3.2, “Linux”.
10.5.2.3 macOS
See the FreeTDS setup notes for Linux, Section 10.5.2.2, “Linux”.
10.5.3 Connection Setup

This section focuses on creating a connection to the source Microsoft SQL Server, because creating a
MySQL connection is a standard operation.
Note
Prerequisite: that you already installed and configured the required Microsoft SQL
Server driver on the system running MySQL Workbench.

Select Microsoft SQL Server as the database system and fill out the remaining options as described in
this section. The following figure shows an example of the Drivers tab.
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Connection Setup
Figure 10.42 SQL Server Connection Parameters Example on Windows
• Database System: Microsoft SQL Server
• Connection Method: choose ODBC (native) to use the native ODBC driver that is provided by
Microsoft. Alternatives include "ODBC data sources" and "ODBC FreeTDS". FreeTDS is a popular open
source driver for SQL Server and Sybase.
• Driver: use the SQL Server driver name, as described in the documentation titled Section 10.5.2.1,
“Microsoft Windows”. Typically this will be "SQL Server" or a versioned client, such as "SQL Server
Native Client 11.0".
• Server: the address and optionally instance name of the SQL server, such as "example.com" or
"example.org\SQLEXPRESS".
• Username: the user name on the SQL Server, with "sa" being a commonly used name.
• Password: optionally enter a password to save locally, or leave it blank to enter the password when the
SQL Server connection is made later on in the process.
• Database: optionally enter a database name. Leave it blank to select a database name after the MySQL
Workbench wizard fetches the available databases.
• Store connection for future: optionally store the connection details locally for future use by checking
this box and entering a name for the connection.
• Advanced: optionally enter additional options.
Click Test Connection to confirm that the parameters are correct before moving on.
10.5.3.2 Linux
Select Microsoft SQL Server as the source database system and fill out the remaining options as
described in this section. The following figure shows an example of the connection parameters.
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Connection Setup
Figure 10.43 SQL Server Connection Parameters Example on Linux
Source RDBMS connection parameters include:
• Database System: Microsoft SQL Server
• Connection Method: choose ODBC (FreeTDS) to use the local FreeTDS that was installed in an earlier
step. For additional information about how to install a FreeTDS driver on Linux that will work with the
MySQL Workbench migration wizard, see Section 10.5.2.2, “Linux”.
Alternatively, choose ODBC Data Source (FreeTDS) if you defined a DSN when creating the SQL
Server driver. The available pre-configured DSN options will be available to choose from.
• Driver: The name of the driver that you created with the ODBC Administrator, as described in the
documentation titled Section 10.5.2.2, “Linux”.
An example name might be "Workbench FreeTDS", or "FreeTDS", but it is the name you defined in an
earlier step, so it may or may not be "FreeTDS". Use the ODBC Administrator to find the correct driver
name, as otherwise the connection will fail.
• Hostname: the address and instance name of the SQL server, such as "example.org".
• Port: the port number. Port number 1433 is commonly used for MySQL server.
• Username: the user name on the SQL server, with "sa" being a commonly used name.
• Password: optionally enter a password to save locally, or leave it blank to enter the password when the
SQL Server connection is made later on in the process.
• Database: optionally enter a database name. Leave it blank to select a database name after the MySQL
Workbench wizard fetches the available databases.
• Store connection for future: optionally store the connection details locally for future use by checking
this box and entering a name for the connection.
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Microsoft SQL Server Type Mapping
• Advanced: Deselect the Driver sends Unicode data as UTF-8 option to use UCS-2.
Note
If your MSSQL server connection succeeded but the data import failed, it could
be because this setting was enabled.
Click Test Connection to confirm that the parameters are correct before moving on.
10.5.3.3 macOS
Connection parameters are similar to Linux, see Section 10.5.3.2, “Linux”.
10.5.4 Microsoft SQL Server Type Mapping

The following table shows the mapping between Microsoft SQL Server (source) data types and MySQL
data types.
Table 10.2 Type mapping
Source Type MySQL Type Comment

INT INT
TINYINT TINYINT UNSIGNED flag set in MySQL.
SMALLINT SMALLINT
BIGINT BIGINT
BIT TINYINT(1)
FLOAT FLOAT Precision value is used for storage size in both.
REAL FLOAT
NUMERIC DECIMAL
DECIMAL DECIMAL
MONEY DECIMAL
SMALLMONEY DECIMAL
CHAR CHAR/LONGTEXT Depending on its length. MySQL Server 5.6 and
higher can have CHAR columns with a length up
to 255 characters. Anything larger is migrated as
LONGTEXT.
NCHAR CHAR/LONGTEXT Depending on its length. MySQL Server 5.6 and
higher can have VARCHAR columns with a length
up to 65535 characters. Anything larger is migrated
to one of the TEXT blob types. In MySQL, a
character set of strings depends on the column
character set instead of the data type.
VARCHAR VARCHAR/ Depending on its length. MySQL Server 5.6 and
MEDIUMTEXT/ higher can have VARCHAR columns with a length
LONGTEXT up to 65535 characters. Anything larger is migrated
to one of the TEXT blob types.
NVARCHAR VARCHAR/ Depending on its length. MySQL Server 5.6 and
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PostgreSQL migration

DATE DATE
DATETIME DATETIME
DATETIME2 DATETIME Date range in MySQL is '1000-01-01
00:00:00.000000' to '9999-12-31 23:59:59.999999'.
Note: fractional second values are only stored as of
MySQL Server 5.6.4 and higher.
SMALLDATETIME DATETIME
DATETIMEOFFSET DATETIME
TIME TIME
TIMESTAMP TIMESTAMP
ROWVERSION TIMESTAMP
BINARY BINARY/MEDIUMBLOB/ Depending on its length.
LONGBLOB
VARBINARY VARBINARY/ Depending on its length.
MEDIUMBLOB/
LONGBLOB
TEXT VARCHAR/ Depending on its length.
MEDIUMTEXT/
LONGTEXT
NTEXT VARCHAR/ Depending on its length.
MEDIUMTEXT/
LONGTEXT
IMAGE TINYBLOB/ Depending on its length.
MEDIUMBLOB/
LONGBLOB
SQL_VARIANT not migrated There is not specific support for this data type.
TABLE not migrated There is not specific support for this data type.
HIERARCHYID not migrated There is not specific support for this data type.
UNIQUEIDENTIFIER VARCHAR(64) A unique flag set in MySQL. There is not specific
support for inserting unique identifier values.
SYSNAME VARCHAR(160)
XML TEXT
10.6 PostgreSQL migration

10.6.1 Preparations
Before proceeding, you will need the following:
• Follow the installation guide for installing iODBC on your system. For more information, see
Section 10.1, “General Installation Requirements”.
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Drivers
• Access to a running PostgreSQL instance with privileges to the database you want to migrate, otherwise
known as the "source database." The Migration Wizard officially supports PostgreSQL 8.0 and later,
although older versions may work.
• Access to a running MySQL Server instance with privileges to the database you want to migrate. The
Migration Wizard officially supports MySQL 5.0 and higher.
10.6.2 Drivers
Download and install the MSI package for psqlODBC. Choose the newest file from http://
www.postgresql.org/ftp/odbc/versions/msi/, which will be at the bottom of the downloads page. This will
install psqlODBC on your system and allow you to migrate from Postgresql to MySQL using MySQL
Workbench.
10.6.2.2 Linux
After installing iODBC, proceed to install the PostgreSQL ODBC drivers.
Download the psqlODBC source tarball file from http://www.postgresql.org/ftp/odbc/versions/src/. Use the
latest version available for download, which will be at the bottom of the downloads page. The file will look
similar to psqlodbc-09.03.0400.tar.gz. Extract this tarball to a temporary location, open a terminal,
and cd into that directory. The installation process is:
shell> cd the/src/directory
shell> ./configure --with-iodbc --enable-pthreads
shell> make
shell> sudo make install
Verify the installation by confirming that the file psqlodbcw.so is in the /usr/local/lib directory.
Next, you must register your new ODBC Driver.
Open the iODBC Data Source Administrator application by either executing iodbcadm-gtk in the
command-line, or by launching it from the Overview page of the MySQL Workbench Migration Wizard by
clicking the Open ODBC Administrator button.
Go to the ODBC Drivers tab in the iODBC Data Source Administrator. It should look similar to the example
in the figure that follows.
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Connection Setup
Figure 10.44 The iODBC Data Source Administrator
Click Add a driver then fill out the form with the following values:
• Description of the driver: psqlODBC
• Driver file name: /usr/local/lib/psqlodbcw.so
• Setup file name: No value is needed here
And lastly, clicking OK will complete the psqlODBC driver registration.
10.6.2.3 macOS
To compile psqlODBC on macOS, you will need to have Xcode and its "Command Line Tools" component
installed on your system, as this includes the required gcc compiler. Xcode is free, and available from the
AppStore. And after installing Xcode, open it and go to Preferences, Downloads, Components, and then
install the "Command Line Tools" component.
Download the psqlODBC source tarball file from http://www.postgresql.org/ftp/odbc/versions/src/. Use the
latest version available for download, which will be at the bottom of the downloads page. The file will look
similar to psqlodbc-09.03.0400.tar.gz. Extract this tarball to a temporary location, open a terminal,
and cd into that directory. The installation process is:
shell> cd the/src/directory
shell> ./configure --with-iodbc --enable-pthreads
shell> CFLAGS="-arch i386 -arch x86_64" make
shell> sudo make install
10.6.3 Connection Setup

After loading the Migration Wizard, click on the Start Migration button in the Overview page to begin the
migration process. You will first connect to the source PostgreSQL database. Here you will provide the
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PostgreSQL Type Mapping
information about the PostgreSQL RDBMS that you are migrating from, the ODBC driver that will be used
for the migration, and all of the parameters required for the connection. The name of the ODBC driver is
the one you set up when you registered your psqlODBC driver with the driver manager.
Opening the Database System dropdown list reveals each RDBMS that is supported on your system.
Select PostgreSQL from the list. Below that is the Stored Connection dropdown list, which is optional.
Stored connections will be listed here, which are connections saved after defining a connection with the
Store connection for future use as check box enabled.
The three Connection Method options are:
• ODBC (manually entered parameters): Each parameter, like a username, is defined separately
• ODBC Data Source: For pre-configured data sources (DSN) -- you can optionally create a DSN using
the ODBC Administrator
• ODBC (direct connection string): A full ODBC connection string
Note
The psqlODBC driver does not allow a connection without specifying a database
name.
The migration process is similar to other databases. See Section 10.6.4, “PostgreSQL Type Mapping” for
information on how the migration wizard migrates types from PostgreSQL to MySQL, and Section 10.2.1,
“A Visual Guide to Performing a Database Migration” for a general migration guide.
10.6.4 PostgreSQL Type Mapping

The following table shows the mapping between PostgreSQL (source) data types and MySQL data types.
Table 10.3 Type mapping

INT INT
SMALLINT SMALLINT
BIGINT BIGINT
SERIAL INT Sets AUTO_INCREMENT in its table definition.
SMALLSERIAL SMALLINT Sets AUTO_INCREMENT in its table definition.
BIGSERIAL BIGINT Sets AUTO_INCREMENT in its table definition.
BIT BIT
BOOLEAN TINYINT(1)
REAL FLOAT
DOUBLE PRECISION DOUBLE
NUMERIC DECIMAL
DECIMAL DECIMAL
MONEY DECIMAL(19,2)
CHAR CHAR/LONGTEXT Depending on its length. MySQL Server 5.6 and
higher can have CHAR columns with a length up
to 255 characters. Anything larger is migrated as
LONGTEXT.
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PostgreSQL Type Mapping

NATIONAL CHAR/LONGTEXT Depending on its length. MySQL Server 5.6 and
CHARACTER higher can have VARCHAR columns with a length
up to 65535 characters. Anything larger is migrated
VARCHAR VARCHAR/ Depending on its length. MySQL Server 5.6 and
to one of the TEXT blob types.
NATIONAL VARCHAR/ Depending on its length. MySQL Server 5.6 and
CHARACTER VARYING MEDIUMTEXT/ higher can have VARCHAR columns with a length
DATE DATE
TIME TIME
TIMESTAMP DATETIME
INTERVAL TIME
BYTEA LONGBLOB
TEXT LONGTEXT
CIDR VARCHAR(43)
INET VARCHAR(43)
MACADDR VARCHAR(17)
UUID VARCHAR(36)
XML LONGTEXT
JSON LONGTEXT
TSVECTOR LONGTEXT
TSQUERY LONGTEXT
ARRAY LONGTEXT
POINT POINT
LINE LINESTRING Although LINE length is infinite, and LINESTRING is
finite in MySQL, it is approximated.
LSEG LINESTRING A LSEG is like a LINESTRING with only two points.
BOX POLYGON A BOX is a POLYGON with five points and right
angles.
PATH LINESTRING
POLYGON POLYGON
CIRCLE POLYGON A POLYGON is used to approximate a CIRCLE.
TXID_SNAPSHOT VARCHAR
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MySQL Migration
10.7 MySQL Migration

Perform MySQL server version upgrades to move off older MySQL versions to the latest version. The
standard migration wizard can migrate MySQL to MySQL, and a simpler Schema Transfer Wizard can
also be used.
MySQL Schema Transfer Wizard

The MySQL Schema Transfer wizard helps you move your data from an older MySQL server version to
a different (typically later) MySQL version. This migration tool is meant for developer hosts as it is simpler
than the standard migration wizard, because it only migrates MySQL to MySQL. The data is transferred
and not based on a consistent snapshot, so it works best on local MySQL instances.
Note
You should not use this wizard on production MySQL instances.
To open the wizard, select Database and then Schema Transfer Wizard from the main menu. The next
figure shows the initial screen.
Figure 10.45 MySQL Schema Transfer Wizard: Overview
Read the overview text and click Start the Wizard to begin. An example transfer appears in the figure that
follows.
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Figure 10.46 MySQL Schema Transfer Wizard: Connection Selection
Choose your target and source MySQL connections (see the figure that follows). After choosing and testing
your MySQL connections, click Next to continue.
396
Figure 10.47 MySQL Schema Transfer Wizard: Schema Selection
Choose the schemas to migrate, and click Start Copy to begin copying the selected schemas from the
source to target MySQL server. The next figure shows the copy status.
397
Figure 10.48 MySQL Schema Transfer Wizard: Copy Databases
Review the Message Log to confirm that the migration finished with success. Click Next to view a
summary of the results. The following figure shows an example of the copy results.
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Using the MySQL Workbench Migration Wizard
Figure 10.49 MySQL Schema Transfer Wizard: Results
Click Finish to close the wizard.
10.8 Using the MySQL Workbench Migration Wizard

For a visual walk-through of the migration wizard, see Section 10.2.1, “A Visual Guide to Performing a
Database Migration”.
10.8.1 Connecting to the Databases

A connection is made to the source and target database servers.
Source Connection
Select the source RDBMS that is migrating to MySQL. Choose the Database System that is being
migrated and the other connection parameters will change accordingly (see the figure that follows).
Note
This connection definition may be saved using the Store connection for
future use as option, and there is also the Test Connection option.
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Connecting to the Databases
Figure 10.50 MySQL Workbench migration: Source Selection (Parameters)
Target Selection
The target is the MySQL database that will contain the migrated data. Choose an existing MySQL
Workbench connection or select Manage Stored Connections from drop-down list to create a new
MySQL connection. An example stored connection appears in the following figure.
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Schema Retrieval and Selection
Figure 10.51 MySQL Workbench migration: Target selection
10.8.2 Schema Retrieval and Selection

Retrieve a list of available databases and choose the specific databases (and tables) that you want to
migrate to MySQL.
Fetch Schemas List
The Schemas list is retrieved from both the source and target RDBMS. The account used for the
connection will need to have appropriate privileges for listing and reading the schemas you want to
migrate. Target RDBMS connection settings will also be validated. This is an automated and informational
step that reports connection related errors, general log information, or both (see the figure that follows).
The steps that are performed include: connects to the source DBMS, checks the connection, and retrieves
the schema list from the source.
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Schema Retrieval and Selection
Figure 10.52 MySQL Workbench migration: Fetch Schemas List
Schemas Selection
Choose the databases you want to migrate over to MySQL.
The Schema Name Mapping Method step provides the following options for migrating from Microsoft SQL
Server:
Note
This example uses Microsoft SQL Server as the source RDMS. Although the
options will be different for other database systems, the concept remains the same.
• Keep schemas as they are: Catalog.Schema.Table -> Schema.Table: This will create multiple
databases, one per schema.
• Only one schema: Catalog.Schema.Table -> Catalog.Table: Merges each schema into a single
database (see the figure that follows).
• Only one schema, keep current schema names as a prefix: Catalog.Schema.Table ->
Catalog.Schema_table: Preserves the schema name as a prefix.
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Reverse Engineering
Figure 10.53 MySQL Workbench Migration: Schemas Selection
10.8.3 Reverse Engineering

The source metadata is fetched from the source RDBMS, and reverse engineered. This is an automated
and informational step that reports related errors, general log information, or both (see the figure that
follows). View the logs and then click Next to continue.
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Object Selection
Figure 10.54 MySQL Workbench migration: Reverse Engineer Source
10.8.4 Object Selection

Objects discovered by the Reverse Engineer Source stage are made available here. Valid objects include
Table, View, and Routine objects, with only the Table objects being selected by default (see the figure that
follows). Use the Show Selection button in order to disable individual table objects from being migrated.
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Migration
Figure 10.55 MySQL Workbench migration: Source Objects
10.8.5 Migration
Reverse engineered objects from the source RDBMS are automatically converted to MySQL compatible
objects. Default data type and default column value mappings are used, and the generated objects and
column definitions may be reviewed and edited in the next step.
The steps performed include Migrating the selected objects, and generating the SQL CREATE statements,
as indicated in the next figure.
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Manual Editing
Figure 10.56 MySQL Workbench Migration: Migration
10.8.6 Manual Editing

Use the View select box to choose the section to edit (see the figure that follows). The Show Code and
Messages button is available on every page and it shows the generated MySQL code that corresponds to
the selected object.
• Migration Problems: This either reports problems or displays "No mapping problems found." As the
following figure shows, this is an informational screen.
406
Manual Editing
Figure 10.57 MySQL Workbench migration: Manual Editing (Migration Problems)
407
Manual Editing
• All Objects: An object view that allows you to view and edit the object definitions. Double-click on a row
to modify a target objects name (see the figure that follows).
Figure 10.58 MySQL Workbench Migration: Manual Editing (All Objects)
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Target Creation Options
• Column Mappings: Shows all of the table column mappings and enables you to individually review and
fix the mapping for all column types, default values, and other attributes. The following figure shows an
example of the manual editing session.
Figure 10.59 MySQL Workbench Migration: Manual Editing (Column Mappings)
10.8.7 Target Creation Options

Defines addition settings for the target schema. Configuration options include:
• Create schema in target RDBMS
• Create an SQL script file
• Keep the schemas if they already exist. Objects that already exist will not be recreated or update.
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Schema Creation
Figure 10.60 MySQL Workbench Migration: Target Creation Options
10.8.8 Schema Creation

The SQL scripts generated for the migrated schema objects will now be executed in the target database.
You can monitor execution in the logs, if errors exist then they will be fixed in the next step. Table data will
be migrated in a later step as well.
As the following figure shows, this is an automated step and the actions include: Create Script File,
Connect to Target Database, and Create Schemas and Objects.
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Create Target Results
Figure 10.61 MySQL Workbench Migration: Create Schemas
10.8.9 Create Target Results

The generated objects are listed here, along with the error messages if any exist.
The migration code may also be viewed and edited here (see the figure that follows). To make changes,
select an object, edit the query code, and click Apply. Repeat this process for each object that will be
edited. Finally, click Recreate Objects to save the results.
Note
The Recreate Objects operation is required to save any changes here. It will then
execute the previous migration step (Create Schemas) with the modified code, and
then continue the migration process. This also means that the previously saved
schema will be dropped.
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Data Transfer and Migration Setup
Figure 10.62 MySQL Workbench Migration: Create Target Results
10.8.10 Data Transfer and Migration Setup

Transfers data from the source RDBMS to the target MySQL database (see the figure that follows). The
setup screen includes the following options:
Data Copy:
• Online copy of table data to target RDBMS: This (default) will copy the data to the target RDBMS.
• Create a batch file to copy the data at another time: The data may also be dumped to a file that can
be executed at a later time, or be used as a backup. This script uses a MySQL connection to transfer the
data.
• Create a shell script to use native server dump and load abilities for fast migration: Unlike the
simple batch file that performs a live online copy, this generates a script to be executed on the source
host to then generate a Zip file containing all of the data and information needed to migrate the data
locally on the target host. Copy and extract the generated Zip file on the target host and then execute the
import script (on the target host) to import the data into MySQL using a LOAD DATA call.
This faster method avoids the need to traffic all data through MySQL Workbench, or to have a
permanent network connection between the MySQL servers.
Note
This option was added in MySQL Workbench 6.3.0.
Options:
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Bulk Data Transfer
• Truncate target tables before copying data: In case the target database already exists, this will delete
said data.
• Worker tasks: The default value is 2. This is the number of tasks (database connections) used while
copying the data.
• Enable debug output for table copy: Shows debugging information.
Figure 10.63 MySQL Workbench Migration: Data Transfer Setup
10.8.11 Bulk Data Transfer

Depending on the selected option, this will either transfer the data to the target RDMS (default), generate
a simple script for the online data transfer, or generate script to execute on the source host that then
generates a Zip file containing both the transfer script and data that will be executed on the target host.
Optionally, view the logs to confirm (see the figure that follows).
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Migration Report
Figure 10.64 MySQL Workbench Migration: Bulk Data Transfer
10.8.12 Migration Report

Displays the final report that summarizes the migration process. The following figure shows an example of
the migration report.
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MySQL Workbench Migration Wizard FAQ
Figure 10.65 MySQL Workbench Migration: Migration Report
10.9 MySQL Workbench Migration Wizard FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions with answers.
10.9.1 While using the Postgresql psqlodbc driver, I see the following error: ('08001', '[08001]
Already connected. (202) (SQLDriverConnect)') ................................................. 415
10.9.1.While using the Postgresql psqlodbc driver, I see the following error: ('08001', '[08001]
Already connected. (202) (SQLDriverConnect)')
This means that PostgreSQL is not configured to accept connections from the source IP.
415
416
Appendix A MySQL Workbench Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ Categories
• Basic Usage
• MySQL Workbench Functionality
• Data Management
• General
Basic Usage
A.1 What is a MySQL connection? Why might I need to create more than one? ................................. 417
A.2 Does MySQL Workbench support the TLSv1.2 protocol? ........................................................... 417
A.3 How do I create a MySQL database (schema) in MySQL Workbench? ........................................ 417
A.4 Is there an easy way to select all data from a table, and then see the results? ............................. 418
A.1. What is a MySQL connection? Why might I need to create more than one?
A MySQL connection links (connects) Workbench to a MySQL server. Most actions performed
within Workbench are then performed against the connected MySQL server. Each MySQL
connection contains its own set of definitions, so you might define multiple MySQL connections in
Workbench. For example, the connections might connect to different MySQL servers, or the same
MySQL server with different user names, or enable SSL for one, or you might set up a connection to
a remote MySQL server (on your web host?) using the SSH options, and so on.
As for multiple connections to the same local MySQL server, you might have one connection using
"root" with another using a less privileged user. Depending on how you set up the users, they may
(or may not) both have rights to see and use the same databases (information). For example,
you might use Workbench to configure and use the less-privileged user that you use for your web
application.
So to summarize, connections simply connect to the MySQL server. If two connections use the
same exact information then the results in Workbench should be identical, although this is not a
common use case. For additional information about MySQL connections in MySQL Workbench, see
Chapter 5, Connections in MySQL Workbench.
A.2. Does MySQL Workbench support the TLSv1.2 protocol?
Because TLSv1.2 requires OpenSSL, support for this protocol is available for MySQL Workbench
Commercial Editions, and not for the Community Edition (which is compiled using yaSSL and
supports TLSv1.1 only).
A.3. How do I create a MySQL database (schema) in MySQL Workbench?
• Open a MySQL connection to open the SQL editor.
• On the left pane there is an Object Browser that contains two tabs titled Management and
Schemas. Choose the schemas tab (default).
• Right-click anywhere in the Schemas pane and choose Create Schema from the context-menu.
• Follow the schema creation wizard by naming your new schema, and click Apply to create your
new schema.
417
Other options include clicking the "Create Schema" icon on the main navigation bar, or executing a
"CREATE SCHEMA your_db_name" query in the SQL editor.
A.4. Is there an easy way to select all data from a table, and then see the results?
From the schema navigator, hover over the table and click the icon. This executes a "SELECT
* FROM schema.table" query and loads the results into the result grid. From there you can view or
edit the data.
Alternatively, right-click on a table and select Select Rows - Limit 1000 form the context menu.
Workbench Functionality
A.1 How do I use the SSL Certificate wizard to enable SSL for both my MySQL server and MySQL
client? .................................................................................................................................. 418
A.2 How do I copy my saved MySQL connections in Workbench to a different computer? ................... 418
A.3 How can I view my MySQL Workbench query history? ............................................................... 418
A.4 Can I preserve a results tab rather than have it refresh every time I execute a statement? ............ 418
A.5 How does the embedded web browser functionality work? For example, clicking Workbench
Forum on the Home screen opens the forum in its own embedded MySQL Workbench tab. ...... 419
A.6 How does MySQL Workbench increase import performance? ..................................................... 419
A.1. How do I use the SSL Certificate wizard to enable SSL for both my MySQL server and MySQL
client?
Execute the wizard to generate the SSL certificates, and then modify your MySQL server's
configuration file (my.cnf or my.ini) accordingly. You can copy-n-paste entries for the SSL
options from the generated sample-my.cnf sample file. Next, confirm that the SSL CA File, CERT
File, and Key File values are properly set under the SSL tab for your MySQL connection. Set Use
SSL to either Require (recommended) or If available, and then execute Test Connection. This
should report that SSL is enabled.
Failed SSL connections are logged in the MySQL Workbench log file. For additional information
about the log file's location, see Section 3.3, “MySQL Workbench Settings and Log Files”.
For additional information, see Section 5.3.4, “SSL Wizard (Certificates)”.
A.2. How do I copy my saved MySQL connections in Workbench to a different computer?
From the main navigation menu, choose Tools, Configuration, and then Backup Connections
to create a Zip file with your configured MySQL connections. Next, load this file into your new
Workbench instance by using the related Restore Connections option.
A.3. How can I view my MySQL Workbench query history?
In bottom pane, change Action Output to History and then choose the appropriate date.
The SQL statement history is stored as plain text on your system under your user's MySQL
Workbench configuration path in the sql_history directory. These files are organized per date
(such as 2014-01-15) and contain your MySQL Workbench SQL statement history for all MySQL
connections.
A.4. Can I preserve a results tab rather than have it refresh every time I execute a statement?
Yes, you can pin the results tab to force it to remain and be unaffected by UPDATE and other
statements. Do that by right-clicking the result tab and choose "Pin Tab" from the context-menu, or
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left-click the little pin icon to toggle it. Now, execute your other queries and then refresh the pinned
tab (there is a "refresh" icon in the result grid's menu).
A.5. How does the embedded web browser functionality work? For example, clicking Workbench Forum
on the Home screen opens the forum in its own embedded MySQL Workbench tab.
The Webkit system library is used on OS X, Internet Explorer is used on Windows, and Linux opens
the default browser externally rather than an embedded browser. Pressing Modifier + Arrow moves
the browser history forward and back.
A.6. How does MySQL Workbench increase import performance?
When a model is exported (Database, Forward Engineer...), some MySQL server variables are
temporarily set to enable faster SQL import by the server. The statements added at the start of the
code are:
SET @OLD_UNIQUE_CHECKS=@@UNIQUE_CHECKS, UNIQUE_CHECKS=0;
SET @OLD_FOREIGN_KEY_CHECKS=@@FOREIGN_KEY_CHECKS, FOREIGN_KEY_CHECKS=0;
SET @OLD_SQL_MODE=@@SQL_MODE, SQL_MODE='TRADITIONAL,ALLOW_INVALID_DATES';
These statements function as follows:
• SET @OLD_UNIQUE_CHECKS=@@UNIQUE_CHECKS, UNIQUE_CHECKS=0;: Determines whether

InnoDB performs duplicate key checks. Import is much faster for large data sets if this check is
not performed. For additional information, see unique_checks.
• SET @OLD_FOREIGN_KEY_CHECKS=@@FOREIGN_KEY_CHECKS, FOREIGN_KEY_CHECKS=0;:

Determines whether the server should check that a referenced table exists when defining
a foreign key. Due to potential circular references, this check must be turned off for the
duration of the import, to permit defining foreign keys. For additional information, see
foreign_key_checks.
• SET @OLD_SQL_MODE=@@SQL_MODE, SQL_MODE='TRADITIONAL';: Sets SQL_MODE

to TRADITIONAL, causing the server to operate in a more restrictive mode, and
ALLOW_INVALID_DATES, causing dates to not be fully validated.
These server variables are then reset at the end of the script using the following statements:
SET SQL_MODE=@OLD_SQL_MODE;
SET FOREIGN_KEY_CHECKS=@OLD_FOREIGN_KEY_CHECKS;
SET UNIQUE_CHECKS=@OLD_UNIQUE_CHECKS;
Workbench Behavior
A.1 Why do my query results sometimes say Read Only but other times I can edit data in the results
grid? ..................................................................................................................................... 419
A.2 I'm attempting to execute a DELETE query but the query fails with an "Error Code: 1175" error.
How do I proceed? ............................................................................................................... 420
A.3 My MySQL server connection is timing out with an error like "Error Code: 2013. Lost connection
to MySQL server during query". Can I adjust the timeout? ...................................................... 420
A.4 What do the column flag acronyms (PK, NN, UQ, BIN, UN, ZF, AI, G) in the MySQL Workbench
Table Editor mean? .............................................................................................................. 420
A.1. Why do my query results sometimes say Read Only but other times I can edit data in the results
grid?
Data in the query results grid is only editable when the query results includes a primary key. For
example, SELECT type FROM food is read-only if type is not a primary key, but SELECT id,
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type FROM food is editable when id is a primary key. Typically, SELECT * syntax is used in
Workbench which often includes query results with a primary key.
For additional information, move the mouse pointer over the Read Only icon to reveal a tooltip that
explains why your result set is in read-only mode.
A.2. I'm attempting to execute a DELETE query but the query fails with an "Error Code: 1175" error. How
do I proceed?
By default, Workbench is configured to not execute DELETE or UPDATE queries that do not include
a WHERE clause on a KEY column. To alter this behavior, open your Workbench Preferences,
select the SQL Editor section, and disable the following preference:
[ ] "Safe Updates". Forbid UPDATEs and DELETEs with no key in WHERE clause or no LIMIT
clause.
Changing this preference requires you to reconnect to your MySQL server before it can take affect.
A.3. My MySQL server connection is timing out with an error like "Error Code: 2013. Lost connection to
MySQL server during query". Can I adjust the timeout?
Yes, go to Preferences, SQL Editor, and adjust the DBMS connection read time out option that
defaults to 600 seconds. This sets the maximum amount of time (in seconds) that a query can take
before MySQL Workbench disconnects from the MySQL server.
A.4. What do the column flag acronyms (PK, NN, UQ, BIN, UN, ZF, AI, G) in the MySQL Workbench
Table Editor mean?
Checking these boxes alters the table column by assigning the checked constraints to the
designated columns.
Move the pointer over an acronym to view a description, and see Section 8.1.10.2, “Columns Tab”,
and the documentation for the CREATE TABLE for additional details.
Data Management
A.1 How do I import comma-separated values (CSV) data into MySQL using Workbench? ................. 420
A.2 How do I export MySQL data to a plain text file with a format such as CSV, JSON, or XML? ......... 420
A.3 How to export (save) a MySQL database to a text file? .............................................................. 421
A.1. How do I import comma-separated values (CSV) data into MySQL using Workbench?
Importing CSV data into a new or existing table: the Table Data Import wizard imports configurable
CSV data into a new or existing table. This option was added in MySQL Workbench 6.3.
Importing CSV data into a result set: the Import records from external file wizard imports CSV
data directly into a result set's view.
Alternatively, the Data Import wizard imports your saved MySQL files into your MySQL server. For
additional information, see Section 6.5, “Data Export and Import”.
A.2. How do I export MySQL data to a plain text file with a format such as CSV, JSON, or XML?
The results view panel in Workbench has an "Export recordset to an external file" option that exports
your result set to a wide variety of formats. For additional information, see Export a Result Set.
420
Note
This is different than the Data Export wizard that exports your MySQL
data to standard MySQL formats. For additional information about that, see
A.3. How to export (save) a MySQL database to a text file?
Open a MySQL connection, and select Server from the main navigation menu and choose Data
Export to open the data export wizard. Alternatively, choose Data Export from the left Management
pane for the desired MySQL selection.
Here you can choose which databases to export, whether or not to include the data, dump to a
single file or multiple files (one per table), and more. For additional details, see Section 6.5, “Data
Export and Import”.
General
A.1 I'm forced to use MySQL Workbench 5.2.x, is its documentation available? ................................. 421
A.1. I'm forced to use MySQL Workbench 5.2.x, is its documentation available?
Although the 5.2.x branch is no longer maintained, its documentation is archived at http://
dev.mysql.com/doc/index-archive.html.
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422
Appendix B Keyboard Shortcuts
The following tables list keyboard shortcuts for MySQL Workbench commands. Modifier in the tables
stands for the platform-specific modifier key. This is Command on macOS, Control on other platforms. On
macOS, the Alt key is Option.
There are keyboard shortcuts for the different menus in MySQL Workbench:
• File Menu
• Edit Menu
• View Menu
• Arrange Menu
• Model Menu
• Query Menu
• Database Menu
• Scripting Menu
• Help Menu
• EER Diagram Mode
• Changes to Keyboard Shortcuts
File Menu
Table B.1 File menu keyboard shortcuts
Function Keyboard Shortcut Context

New Model Modifier+N All
Open Model Modifier+O All
Open SQL Script Modifier+Shift+O SQL Editor
Close Tab Modifier+W, Modifier+F4 on Windows All
Save Model Modifier+S Model
Save Script Modifier+S SQL Editor
Save Model As Modifier+Shift+S Model
Save Script As Modifier+Shift+S SQL Editor
Forward Engineer SQL Modifier+Shift+G Model
CREATE Script
Forward Engineer SQL ALTER Modifier+Alt+Y Model
Script
Synchronize With SQL Modifier+Shift+Y Model
CREATE Script
Print Modifier+P EER Diagram mode only
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Edit Menu

Exit Modifier+Q All
Edit Menu
Table B.2 Edit menu keyboard shortcuts

Undo Modifier+Z Model, EER Diagram
Redo Modifier+Y, Modifier+Shift+Z (macOS) Model, EER Diagram
Cut Modifier+X All
Copy Modifier+C All
Paste Modifier+V All
Delete Modifier+Delete, Command+BackSpace All
(macOS)
Edit Selected Modifier+E Model, EER Diagram
Edit Selected in New Window Modifier+Shift+E Model, EER Diagram
Select All Modifier+A EER Diagram
Find Modifier+F All
Find Advanced Modifier+Alt+F All
Find Next F3 All
Find Previous Shift+F3 All
Search and Replace Modifier+Shift+F All
Beautify Query Modifier+B SQL Editor
Comment/Uncomment lines of Modifier+/ SQL Editor
SQL
Auto-Complete SQL Modifier+Space SQL Editor
View Menu
Table B.3 View menu keyboard shortcuts

Output Window Modifier+F2, Modifier+Option+2 (macOS) All
Set Marker n Modifier+Shift+n (n is integer 1..9) EER Diagram
Go to Marker n Modifier+n (n is integer 1..9) EER Diagram
Arrange Menu
Table B.4 Arrange menu keyboard shortcuts

Bring to Front Modifier+Shift+F EER Diagram
Send to Back Modifier+Shift+B EER Diagram
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Model Menu
Model Menu
Table B.5 Model menu keyboard shortcuts

Add Diagram Modifier+T Model, EER Diagram
Validate All Modifier+Alt+V Model, EER Diagram
Validate All (MySQL) Modifier+Alt+B Model, EER Diagram
Model Options Command+Alt+, (Shortcut available only Model, EER Diagram
on macOS)
Query Menu
Table B.6 Query menu keyboard shortcuts

Execute statement Modifier+Return SQL Editor
Execute statements Modifier+Shift+Return SQL Editor
New Tab Modifier+T SQL Editor
Database Menu
Table B.7 Database menu keyboard shortcuts

Query Database Modifier+U All
Reverse Engineer Modifier+R Model, EER Diagram
Forward Engineer Modifier+G Model, EER Diagram
Synchronize Model Modifier+Y Model, EER Diagram
Scripting Menu
Table B.8 Scripting menu keyboard shortcuts

Scripting Shell Modifier+F3, Modifier+Option+3 (on All
macOS)
Run Workbench Script File Modifier+Shift+R All
Help Menu
Table B.9 Help menu keyboard shortcuts

Help Index F1, Command+Option+question (on All
macOS)
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EER Diagram Mode
EER Diagram Mode

In the EER Diagram view, a number of other keyboard shortcuts are available.
Table B.10 EER diagram mode keyboard shortcuts
Function Keyboard Shortcut

Selection tool Escape
Hand tool H
Delete tool D
Layer tool L
Note tool N
Image tool I
Table tool T
View tool V
Routine Group tool G
Non-Identifying Relationship 1:1 1
Non-Identifying Relationship 1:n 2
Identifying Relationship 1:1 3
Identifying Relationship 1:n 4
Identifying Relationship n:m 5
Relationship Using Existing Columns 6
Changes to Keyboard Shortcuts

Table B.11 Keyboard shortcut changes
MySQL Workbench version The Change

5.2.45 The "Modifier+/" shortcut was added to comment/uncomment SQL in the
SQL editor
5.2.45 On Microsoft Windows, the "Modifier+W" shortcut was changed to
"Control+F4" -- this shortcut closes MySQL Workbench tabs
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Appendix C Extending Workbench
Table of Contents
C.1 GRT and Workbench Data Organization ................................................................................... 427
C.2 Modules ................................................................................................................................... 428
C.3 Plugins and Tools .................................................................................................................... 430
C.4 Adding a GUI to a Plugin Using MForms .................................................................................. 431
C.5 The Workbench Scripting Shell ................................................................................................. 431
C.5.1 Exploring the Workbench Scripting Shell ........................................................................ 432
C.5.2 The Shell Window ......................................................................................................... 432
C.5.3 Files, Globals, Classes, Modules, and Notifications Tabs ................................................. 434
C.6 Tutorial: Writing Plugins ............................................................................................................ 439
C.6.1 Tutorial: Generate PHP Code to Create a Connection with PDO_MySQL .......................... 439
C.6.2 Tutorial: Generating Foreign Keys with MyISAM ............................................................. 441
MySQL Workbench provides an extension and scripting system that enables the developer to extend
MySQL Workbench capabilities. While the core of MySQL Workbench is developed using C++, it is
possible to harness this core functionality using the Python scripting language. MySQL Workbench also
provides access to a cross-platform GUI library, MForms, which enables the creation of extensions that
feature a graphical user interface.
The extension system enables the following capabilities:
• Automate common tasks
• Extend the Workbench user-interface
• Create Tools/Plugins (code which can be invoked from the Workbench menu system)
• Manipulate schemas
• Create custom Workbench features
C.1 GRT and Workbench Data Organization

The Generic RunTime (GRT) is the internal system used by MySQL Workbench to hold model document
data. It is also the mechanism by which Workbench can interact with Modules and Plugins. Workbench
model data, such as diagrams, schemas, and tables, is stored in a hierarchy of objects that can be
accessed by any plugin. The information is represented using standard data types: integers, doubles,
strings, dicts, lists, and objects.
The GRT can be accessed using the Python scripting language. Awareness is required of how the GRT
data types map into Python. For example, the GRT integer, double, and string data types are seen as
corresponding Python data types. Lists and dicts are kept in their internal representation, but can generally
be treated as Python lists and dicts, and accessed in the usual way. Objects contain data fields and
methods, but the GRT recognizes only objects from a pre-registered class hierarchy.
It is possible to fully examine the classes contained within the GRT using the Workbench Scripting
Shell. Dots in class names are changed to underscores in their Python counterparts. For example,
db.mysql.Table becomes db_mysql_Table in Python.
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Application Objects Tree (GRT Tree)
Application Objects Tree (GRT Tree)

As mentioned previously, MySQL Workbench document data is stored in an object hierarchy. This
hierarchy is known as the GRT Tree. The GRT Tree can be accessed and modified using Python or C++.
Be careful when modifying the GRT Tree as mistakes can lead to document corruption. Backups should be
made before manipulating the tree. Read-only access to the tree is the safest approach, and is sufficient in
most cases.
Main Nodes in the Application Object Tree

Table C.1 The main nodes in the Application Object Tree
Node Description
wb.registry Application data such as plugin registry, list of
editors, and options.
wb.customData A generic dictionary for data you can use to
store your own data. This dictionary is saved
and reloaded with Workbench and is global
(not document specific).
wb.options Contains some default options that are used
by Workbench.
wb.rdbmsMgmt Internal registry of supported RDBMS
modules, known data types.
wb.doc The currently loaded model document.
wb.doc.physicalModels[0] The currently loaded model object, containing
the database catalog and diagrams.
wb.doc.physicalModels[0].catalog The database catalog for the model. Contains
the list of schemas.
wb.doc.physicalModels[0]catalog.schemata List of schemas in the model. Individual
schema can be accessed as a list:
schemata[0], schemata[1] ...
wb.doc.physicalModels[0].catalog.schemata[0].tables Lists of tables, views, routines in the schema.
(.views, .routines, ...)
wb.doc.physicalModels[0].diagrams List of EER diagrams in the model.
wb.doc.physicalModels[0].diagrams[0].figures List of figures, layers, connections
(.layers, .connections, ...) (relationships) in the diagram.
C.2 Modules
In the GRT Modules are libraries containing a list of functions that are exported for use by code in other
modules, scripts, or Workbench itself. Modules can be written in C++ or Python, but the data types used for
arguments and the return value must be GRT types.
GRT modules are similar to Python modules, but are imported from the built-in grt module, instead
of directly from an external file. The list of modules loaded into the grt module is obtained from
grt.modules. Modules can be imported in Python using statements such as from grt.modules
import WbModel.
To export functions as a module from Python code, perform the following steps:
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Modules
1. The source file must be located in the user modules folder. This path is displayed in the Workbench
Scripting Shell with the label Looking for user plugins in. It is also possible to install the file using the
main menu item Scripting, Install Plugin/Module File.
Table C.2 Default User Module File Location
Windows %AppData%\MySQL\Workbench\modules
macOS ~username/Library/Application Support/MySQL/Workbench/modules
Linux ~username/.mysql/workbench/modules
2. The source file name must have the extension _grt.py; for example, my_module_grt.py.
3. Some module metadata must be defined. This can be done using the DefineModule function from the
wb module:
from wb import *
ModuleInfo = DefineModule(name='MyModule', author='Your Name', version='1.0')
4. Functions to be exported require their signature to be declared. This is achieved using the export
decorator in the previously created ModuleInfo object:
@ModuleInfo.export(grt.INT, grt.STRING)
def checkString(s):
...
For the export statement, the return type is listed first, followed by the input parameter types,
specified as GRT typenames. The following typenames can be used:
• grt.INT: An integer value. Also used for boolean values.
• grt.DOUBLE: A floating-point numeric value.
• grt.STRING: UTF-8 or ASCII string data.
• grt.DICT: A key-value dictionary item. Keys must be strings.
• grt.LIST: A list of other values. It is possible to specify the type of the contents as a tuple
in the form (grt.LIST, <type-or-class>). For example, (grt.LIST, grt.STRING) for
a list of strings. For a list of table objects, the following would be specified: (grt.LIST,
grt.classes.db_table).
• grt.OBJECT: An instance of a GRT object or a GRT class object, from grt.classes.
Note
These types are defined in the grt module, which must be imported before they
are available for use.
The following code snippet illustrates declaring a module that exports a single function:
from wb import *
import grt
ModuleInfo = DefineModule(name='MyModule', author="your name", version='1.0')
@ModuleInfo.export(grt.DOUBLE, grt.STRING, (grt.LIST, grt.DOUBLE))

def printListSum(message, doubleList):
sum = 0
429
Plugins and Tools
for d in doubleList:
sum = sum + d
print message, sum
return sum
C.3 Plugins and Tools

Plugins are special Modules that are exposed to the user through the Workbench GUI. This is typically
done using the main menu, or the context-sensitive menu. Much of the MySQL Workbench functionality is
implemented using plugins; for example, table, view, and routine editors are native C++ plugins, as are the
forward and reverse engineering wizards. The Administrator facility in MySQL Workbench is implemented
entirely as a plugin in Python.
A plugin can be a simple function that performs some action on an input, and ends without further
interaction with the user. Examples of this include auto-arranging a diagram, or making batch changes to
objects. To create a simple plugin, the function must be located in a module and declared as a plugin using
the plugin decorator of the ModuleInfo object.
Plugins can have an indefinite runtime, such as when they are driven by the user through a graphical
user interface. This is the case for the object editors and wizards within MySQL Workbench. Although the
wizard type of plugin must be declared in the usual way, only the entry point of the plugin will need to be
executed in the plugin function, as most of the additional functionality will be invoked as a result of the user
interacting with the GUI.
Note
Reloading a plugin requires MySQL Workbench to be restarted.
Imported plugin files (and their compiled counterparts) are stored here:
Table C.3 User Plugin File Location

Windows %AppData%\MySQL\Workbench\modules
macOS ~username/Library/Application Support/MySQL/Workbench/modules
Linux ~username/.mysql/workbench/modules
Declare a plugin using this syntax:
@ModuleInfo.plugin(plugin_name, caption, [input], [groups], [pluginMenu])
These parameters are defined as follows:
• plugin_name: A unique name for the plugin. It may contain only alphanumeric characters, dots, and
underscores.
• caption: A caption to use for the plugin in menus.
• input: An optional list of input arguments.
• groups: Optional list of groups the plugin belongs to. Recognized values are:
• Overview/Utility: The Context menu in the Model Overview.
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Adding a GUI to a Plugin Using MForms
• Model/Utility: The menu for diagram objects.
• Menu/<category>: The Plugins menu in the main menu.
• pluginMenu: Optional name of a submenu in the Plugins menu where the plugin should appear. For
example, Catalog, Objects, Utilities. This is equivalent to adding a Menu/<category> in the groups
list.
C.4 Adding a GUI to a Plugin Using MForms

MySQL Workbench is implemented with a C++ core back-end, and a native front-end for each supported
platform. Currently the front-end is implemented with Windows Forms on Microsoft Windows, GTK+ on
Linux, and Cocoa on OS X / macOS. This approach permits the application to have a native look and feel,
while reducing the amount of work required to maintain the project. However, the GUI functionality required
by MySQL Workbench can be met by a subset of graphical operations. These are implemented in a cross-
platform GUI library, MForms. This further reduces the development effort because plugin developers
can use MForms rather than writing front-end specific code for each supported platform. This also helps
consistency of operation across all platforms. MForms is coded in C++, but provides a Python interface. To
use it, the Python code must import the mforms module.
MForms Containers
Given the problems of using an absolute coordinate system across different platforms, MForms employs
containers that perform automatic layout. The basic containers that MForms provides include:
• Form: A top-level window which can contain a single control, usually another container. The window will
be sized automatically to fit its contents, but can also be sized statically.
• Box: This container can be filled with one or more controls in a vertical or horizontal layout. Each
child control can be set to use either the minimum of required space, or fill the box in the direction of
the layout. In the direction perpendicular to the layout, for example vertical in a horizontal layout, the
smallest possible size that can accommodate all child controls will be employed. So, in this example, the
smallest height possible to accommodate the controls would be used.
• Table: This container can organize one or more controls in a grid. The number of rows and columns in
the table, and the location of controls within the grid, can be set by the developer.
• ScrollView: This container can contain a single child control, and adds scrollbars if the contents do not
fit the available space.
C.5 The Workbench Scripting Shell

The Workbench Scripting Shell provides a means for entering and executing Python scripts. Through the
use of the scripting shell, MySQL Workbench can support new behavior and data sources using code
written in Python. The shell can also be used to explore the current Workbench Generic RunTime (GRT)
facilities.
The scripting shell is not only useful for expanding MySQL Workbench. You can use a script file from the
scripting shell command line to perform repetitive tasks programmatically.
Note
MySQL also has a product named MySQL Utilities, which is different than
Workbench Scripting Shell.
431
Exploring the Workbench Scripting Shell
C.5.1 Exploring the Workbench Scripting Shell

To open the Workbench Scripting Shell, select Scripting, Scripting Shell from the main menu. You
can also open the Workbench Scripting Shell using the Control + F3 key combination on Windows and
Linux, Command + F3 on macOS, or by clicking the shell button above the EER diagram navigator. The
Workbench Scripting Shell will then open in a new dialog.
The following figure shows the Workbench Scripting Shell dialog.
Figure C.1 The Workbench Scripting Shell
C.5.2 The Shell Window

The Workbench Scripting Shell is primarily used for running Python scripts, or directly typing commands in
Python. However, you can also use it to access the Workbench Scripting Shell Scripting Library functions
and global functions and objects. To see the available commands, type “?”. You can also cut and paste
text to and from the shell window.
The Snippets tab is a scratch pad for saving code snippets, which makes it easy to reuse and execute
code in MySQL Workbench. The following figure shows the Snippets tab selected.
432
The Shell Window
Figure C.2 The Workbench Scripting Shell: Snippets
Opened script file tabs are to the right of the Snippets tab. Script tabs are labeled with the script's
filename, or Unnamed for snippets without a name. You can cut-and-paste to and from the tabs, or right-
click on a snippet to open a context menu with options to Execute Snippet, Send to Script Editor, or
Copy To Clipboard.
While individual commands can be entered into the shell, it is also possible to run a longer script, stored in
an external file, using the main menu item Scripting, Run Workbench Script File. When scripts are run
outside of the shell, to see the output use the main menu item View, Output.
It is also possible to run script files directly from the shell. For details on running script files, type ? run at
the Workbench Scripting Shell prompt. The following message is displayed:
Help Topics
-----------
grt General information about the Workbench runtime
scripting Practical information when working on scripts and modules for Workbench
wbdata Summary about Workbench model data organization
modules Information about Workbench module usage
plugins Information about writing Plugins and Modules for Workbench
Type '? [topic]' to get help on the topic.
Custom Python Modules

---------------------
grt Module to work with Workbench runtime (grt) objects
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Files, Globals, Classes, Modules, and Notifications Tabs
grt.root The root object in the internal Workbench object hierarchy

grt.modules Location where Workbench modules are available
grt.classes List of classes known to the GRT system
mforms A Module to access the cross-platform UI toolkit used in some Workbench features
wb Utility module for creating Workbench plugins
Type 'help(module/object/function)' to get information about a module, object or function.

Type 'dir(object)' to get a quick list of methods an object has.
For an introductory tutorial on the Python language, visit http://docs.python.org/tutorial/

For general Python and library reference documentation, visit http://python.org/doc/
Within the Workbench Scripting Shell, there are five tabs on the top of the left side panel: Files, Globals,
Classes, and Modules, and Notifications.
Note
An exception is thrown while attempting to use input() or read from stdin.
C.5.3 Files, Globals, Classes, Modules, and Notifications Tabs

The Workbench Scripting Shell features the Files, Globals, Classes, Modules, and Notifications tabs, in
addition to the main Shell tab.
Files Tab
The Files tab lists folders and files for user-defined (custom) script files. The file-browser categories are
User Scripts, User Modules, and User Libraries, as the following figure shows.
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Figure C.3 The Workbench Scripting Shell tab: Files
By default, scripts are stored in the scripts/ folder of your MySQL Workbench configuration folder. The
following table lists the default location for each platform.
Table C.4 Default Scripts Location
Operating System Default scripts/ path

Linux ~/.mysql/workbench/scripts
macOS ~/Library/Application\ Support/MySQL/Workbench/
scripts/
Windows 7 C:\Users\[user]\AppData\Roaming\MySQL\Workbench
\scripts\
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Globals Tab
At the top of the window is a list that is used to select the starting point, or root, of the GRT Globals tree
displayed beneath it (see the following figure). By default, this starting point is the root of the tree, that is,
'/'. You can expand or collapse the GRT Globals tree as desired. The GRT Globals tree is the structure
in which MySQL Workbench stores document data. Clicking any item results in its name and value being
displayed in the panel below the tree.
Figure C.4 The Workbench Scripting Shell Tab: Globals
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Classes Tab
A class is a user-defined data type formed by combining primitive data types: integers, doubles, strings,
dicts, lists, and objects. This tab shows the definitions of the classes used by the objects in the Modules
tab. Clicking a class causes a brief description of the class to be displayed in a panel below the classes
explorer, as shown in the next figure.
Figure C.5 The Workbench Scripting Shell Tab: Classes
When the Classes tab is selected, the list displays the following items:
• Group by Name: Group by the object name
• Group by Hierarchy: Group by inheritance
• Group by Package: Group by functionality
437
The default view for this tab is Group By Name. This view shows all the different objects arranged
alphabetically. Click the + icon or double-click a package to show the properties of the struct.
If you switch to the hierarchical view, you will see GrtObject: the parent object from which all other
objects are derived.
Modules Tab
The Modules tab enables you to browse the MySQL Workbench installed modules and their functions.
Clicking a module within the explorer causes its details to be displayed in a panel below the explorer, as
the following figure shows. This facility is useful for exploring the available modules, and their supported
functions. It is also a way to check whether custom modules have been correctly installed.
Figure C.6 The Workbench Scripting Shell Tab: Modules
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Tutorial: Writing Plugins
Notifications Tab
The Notification tab includes the set of notification classes used by MySQL Workbench modules.
Click a notification class for a description of its use, as demonstrated in the next figure.
Figure C.7 The Workbench Scripting Shell Tab: Notifications
C.6 Tutorial: Writing Plugins

The tutorials in this section demonstrate how to extend MySQL Workbench by creating custom plugins.
C.6.1 Tutorial: Generate PHP Code to Create a Connection with PDO_MySQL

MySQL Workbench includes a plugin that generates PHP code with the mysqli extension. This tutorial
shows how to generate code with the PDO_MySQL extension for PHP. You might choose a different
extension or a different language altogether, so adjust the generated code accordingly.
439
Tutorial: Generate PHP Code to Create a Connection with PDO_MySQL
To begin, review the plugin code shown in the example that follows.
# import the wb module
from wb import DefineModule, wbinputs
# import the grt module
import grt
# import the mforms module for GUI stuff
import mforms
# define this Python module as a GRT module

ModuleInfo = DefineModule(name= "MySQLPDO", author= "Yours Truly", version="1.0")
@ModuleInfo.plugin("info.yourstruly.wb.mysqlpdo", caption= "MySQL PDO (Connect to Server)", input= [wbinputs.c

@ModuleInfo.export(grt.INT, grt.classes.db_query_Editor)
def mysqlpdo(editor):
"""Copies PHP code to connect to the active MySQL connection using PDO, to the clipboard.
"""
# Values depend on the active connection type
if editor.connection:
conn = editor.connection
if conn.driver.name == "MysqlNativeSocket":
params = {
"host" : "",
"port" : "",
"user" : conn.parameterValues["userName"],
"socket" : conn.parameterValues["socket"],
"dbname" : editor.defaultSchema,
"dsn" : "mysql:unix_socket={$socket};dbname={$dbname}"
}
else:
params = {
"host" : conn.parameterValues["hostName"],
"port" : conn.parameterValues["port"] if conn.parameterValues["port"] else 3306,
"user" : conn.parameterValues["userName"],
"socket" : "",
"dbname" : editor.defaultSchema,
"dsn" : "mysql:host={$host};port={$port};dbname={$dbname}"
}
text = """$host="%(host)s";
$port=%(port)s;
$socket="%(socket)s";
$user="%(user)s";
$password="";
$dbname="%(dbname)s";
try {
$dbh = new PDO("%(dsn)s", $user, $password));
} catch (PDOException $e) {
echo 'Connection failed: ' . $e->getMessage();
}
""" % params
mforms.Utilities.set_clipboard_text(text)
mforms.App.get().set_status_text("Copied PHP code to clipboard")
return 0
This simple plugin generates PHP code to create a MySQL connection using PHP's PDO_MySQL
extension. The DSN definition depends on the connection type in MySQL Workbench. The part you might
want to modify is within the text definition.
To generate PHP code for a connection, first install the plugin as follows:
1. Copy the plugin code into a new file. The file name used in this example is php-pdo-
connect_grt.py, but you can use a different name as long as _grt.py is the suffix.
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Tutorial: Generating Foreign Keys with MyISAM
2. Start MySQL Workbench. Click Scripting and then Install Plugin/Module from the menu to open a file
browser. Select the plugin file created by the code in the previous step, php-pdo-connect_grt.py
in this case.
Note
You could copy the file directly to the plugin folder instead of using the Install
Plugin/Module interface. The result would be the same.
3. When prompted, restart MySQL Workbench. This step generates a compiled bytecode file (.pyc) from
your source file. In this example, it generates php-pdo-connect_grt.pyc.
4. After restarting MySQL Workbench, load the MySQL connection to use to generate the PHP code.
From the menu, click Tools, Utilities, and then MySQL PDO (Connect to Server), which is the
Caption defined within the plugin code.
This action copies the generated PHP code into the clipboard on your system. The following connection
example defines "sakila" as the default database in the generated code.
$host="localhost";
$port=3306;
$socket="";
$user="root";
$password="";
$dbname="sakila";
try {
$dbh = new PDO("mysql:host={$host};port={$port};dbname={$dbname}", $user, $password));
} catch (PDOException $e) {
echo 'Connection failed: ' . $e->getMessage();
}
C.6.2 Tutorial: Generating Foreign Keys with MyISAM

EER Diagrams are useful for visualizing complex database schemata. They are often created for existing
databases, to clarify their purpose or document them. MySQL Workbench provides facilities for reverse
engineering existing databases, and then creating an EER Diagram automatically. In this case, relationship
lines between foreign keys in the table will automatically be drawn. This graphical representation makes
the relationships between the tables much easier to understand. However, the older MyISAM storage
engine does not include support for foreign keys. This means that MyISAM tables that are reverse
engineered will not automatically have the relationship lines drawn between tables, making the database
harder to understand. The plugin created in this tutorial gets around this problem by using the fact that a
naming convention is often used for foreign keys: tablename_primarykeyname. Using this convention,
foreign keys can automatically be created after a database is reverse engineered, which will result in
relationship lines being drawn in the EER diagram.
Algorithm
The basic algorithm for this task would be as follows:

for each table in the schema
for each column in the table
look for another table whose name and primary key name match the current column name
if such a table is found, add a foreign key referencing it
As iterating the complete table list to find a match can be slow for models with a large number of tables, it
is necessary to optimize by pre-computing all possible foreign key names in a given schema.
import grt
441
Tutorial: Generating Foreign Keys with MyISAM
def auto_create_fks(schema):
fk_name_format = "%(table)s_%(pk)s"
possible_fks = {}
# create the list of possible foreign keys from the list of tables
for table in schema.tables:
if table.primaryKey:
format_args = {'table':table.name, 'pk':table.primaryKey.name}
fkname = fk_name_format % format_args
possible_fks[fkname] = table
# go through all tables in schema, this time to find columns that may be a fk
for table in schema.tables:
for column in table.columns:
if possible_fks.has_key(column.name):
ref_table = possible_fks[column.name]
if ref_table.primaryKey.formattedType != column.type:
continue
fk = table.createForeignKey(column.name+"_fk")
fk.referencedTable = ref_table
fk.columns.append(column)
fk.referencedColumn.append(ref_table.primaryKey)
print "Created foreign key %s from %s.%s to %s.%s" \
% (fk.name, table.name, column.name, ref_table.name, ref_table.primaryKey.name)
auto_create_fks(grt.root.wb.doc.physicalModels[0].catalog.schemata[0])
Creating a Plugin from a Script
To create a plugin from an arbitrary script, it is first necessary to make the file a module, and export the
required function from it. It is then necessary to declare the module as a plugin, and specify the return type
and input arguments.
from wb import *
import grt
ModuleInfo = DefineModule(name="AutoFK", author="John Doe", version="1.0")
@ModuleInfo.plugin("sample.createGuessedForeignKeys",
caption="Create Foreign Keys from ColumnNames",
input=[wbinputs.objectOfClass("db.mysql.schema")],
groups=["Overview/Utility"])
@ModuleInfo.export(grt.INT, grt.classes.db_mysql_Schema)
def auto_create_fks(schema):
...
With the addition of the preceding code, the auto_create_fks() function is exported and will be added
to the schema context menu in the model overview. When invoked, it receives the currently selected
schema as its input.
442
Appendix D How To Report Bugs or Problems
The following is a list of tips and information that is helpful for reporting a MySQL Workbench bug.
A useful bug report includes:

• The exact steps taken to repeat the bug, ideally as a video if the bug is tricky to repeat.
• A screenshot, if the bug is visual.
• The error messages, which includes text sent to stdout and the GUI.
• A copy of the MySQL Workbench Log file.
The log file location can be found using Help, Locate Log Files from within MySQL Workbench.
Bugs that cannot be reproduced are difficult and nearly impossible to fix, so it is important to provide the
steps necessary to reproduce the bug.
Where to report a bug

Visit http://bugs.mysql.com/ and use one of the MySQL Workbench bug categories.
Log Levels
There are six different log levels, with increasing levels of verbosity: error, warning, info, debug1,
debug2, and debug3. By default, the error, warning and info levels are enabled. There is also a
"none" level that disables logging.
Important
Please enable the debug3 level before generating a log for the report.
The enabled error log levels can be configured using an environment variable, or by using a command line
parameter.
Both the environment variable and command line variants accept a single error level, but enabling a more
verbose option will implicitly enable the levels below it. For example, passing in "info" will also enable the
"error" and "warning" levels.
• Environment variable: WB_LOG_LEVEL
Command line option: --log-level on macOS and Linux, and -log-level on Microsoft Windows
Note
If both the command line and environment variable are set, the command line takes
precedence.
For example:
# Microsoft Windows
shell> cd "C:\Program Files (x86)\MySQL\MySQL Workbench CE 8.0.22\"
shell> MySQLWorkbench.exe -log-level=debug3
# macOS
shell> cd /Applications
443
Operating System Specific Notes
shell> MySQLWorkbench --log-level=debug3
# Linux (Ubuntu)
shell> cd /usr/bin
shell> mysqlworkbench --log-level=debug3
If the info level is enabled, the system information and all paths used in the application are also logged.
On Microsoft Windows, this also means that the log file contains the full set of current environment
variables that are active for the program.

Microsoft Windows
• Log file location: Near the user's app data folder, such as C:\Users\[user]\AppData\Roaming
\MySQL\Workbench\log for Microsoft Windows 7.
• In case of errors (or exceptions), the log file contains the stack trace to the point MySQL Workbench can
track it (usually only C# code, and not C++ code). Also, all warnings are added to the log if the warning
(or greater) log level is enabled.
• If it is a crash and that cannot be replicated by the MySQL Workbench team, and the stack trace cannot
be obtained, we will request a crashdump. Instructions for enabling a crashdump can be found here, and
please also read the MSDN details for this as we need a full dump, and not the mini dump.
• For crashes related to display issues, start MySQL Workbench with the -swrendering parameter (and
only then, as it switches off OpenGL rendering, which is of no use in WBA or WQE). This output will be
added to the log file.
• If it is a crash when MySQL Workbench is started (especially if the error report includes something about
kernelbase.dll), we will ask you to run depends.exe on the MySQLWorkbench.exe binary, and
ask for the reported errors.
• If it is a crash when MySQL Workbench is started, and it is a 64-bit version of Microsoft Windows, check
that the correct MSVC runtimes are installed. Often people install the 64-bit version of them, but only the
32-bit will function. More precisely: MSVC 2010 runtime x86 (32-bit).
macOS
• Log File Location: ~/Library/Application Support/MySQL/Workbench/logs
• System crash logs generated for Workbench are in ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/

MySQLWorkbench*
Linux
• Log File Location: ~/.mysql/workbench/logs
• For a crash, we might ask for a stack trace that can generated by gdb by using the following steps:
Note
Because published MySQL Workbench builds lack debug symbols, this step is
optional and will probably not be necessary.
• In shell, execute source /usr/bin/mysql-workbench
• Quit MySQL Workbench
444
• In shell, execute gdb /usr/bin/mysql-workbench-bin
• In the gdb interface, type run
• In MySQL Workbench, repeat the crash
• In the gdb interface, type bt
• If it is a crash, also run glxinfo. If that also crashes, then it is a driver/X server problem related to
OpenGL that is not specific to MySQL Workbench.
445
446
Appendix E MySQL Enterprise Features
A MySQL Enterprise subscription is the most comprehensive offering of MySQL database software,
services and support; it ensures that your business achieves the highest levels of reliability, security, and
uptime.
An Enterprise Subscription includes a MySQL Workbench GUI for the following enterprise features:
• The MySQL Enterprise server: The most reliable, secure, and up-to-date version of the world's most
popular open source database
• MySQL Enterprise Backup: Performs backup and restore operations for MySQL data, and MySQL
Workbench offers a GUI for these operations
• MySQL Enterprise Audit: An easy to use auditing and compliance solution for applications that are
governed by both internal and external regulatory guidelines
• MySQL Enterprise Firewall: regulatory guidelines
• DBDoc Model Reporting Templates: For accessing the Ctemplate System.
• Model Validation: Validation modules for testing models before implementing them, both with general
RDMS and specific MySQL rules.
• MySQL Production Support (MOS): Technical and consultative support when you need it, along
with regularly scheduled service packs, and hot-fixes, and MySQL Workbench links to your My Oracle
Support (MOS) service
For more information, visit http://www.mysql.com/enterprise
447
448
Appendix F MySQL Utilities
MySQL Utilities is a package of utilities that are used for maintenance and administration of MySQL
servers. These utilities encapsulate a set of primitive commands, and bundles them so they can be used to
perform macro operations with a single command. They can be installed with MySQL Workbench or as a
standalone package.
They are a set of command-line utilities and a Python library for making the common tasks easy to
accomplish. The library is written entirely in Python, meaning that it is not necessary to have any other
tools or libraries installed to make it work. It is currently designed to work with Python v2.6 or later and
there is no support for Python v3.1.
The utilities are available under the GPLv2 license, and are extendable using the supplied library.
Installing The MySQL Utilities

MySQL Utilities development is managed elsewhere, and requires a separate download. Attempting to
start the MySQL Utilities when they are not installed will prompt for a download and their installation. See
the MySQL Utilities manual for additional information.
Note
MySQL Workbench searches for the mysqluc MySQL Utility in the system PATH to
determine if the MySQL Utilities are installed.
Opening MySQL Utilities From MySQL Workbench

To open the MySQL Utility mysqluc (MySQL Utilities Unified Console) from MySQL Workbench, click
Tools and then Start Shell for MySQL Utilities from the menu. The following output shows the MySQL
Utilities console window with the help command executed.
Welcome to the MySQL Utilities Client (mysqluc) version 1.6.5
Copyright (c) 2010, 2017 Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
This is a release of dual licensed MySQL Utilities. For the avoidance of
doubt, this particular copy of the software is released
under a commercial license and the GNU General Public License does not apply.
MySQL Utilities is brought to you by Oracle.
Type 'help' for a list of commands or press TAB twice for list of utilities.
mysqluc> help
Command Description
---------------------- ---------------------------------------------------
help utilities Display list of all utilities supported.
help <utility> Display help for a specific utility.
show errors Display errors captured during the execution of the
utilities.
clear errors clear captured errors.
show last error Display the last error captured during the
execution of the utilities
help | help commands Show this list.
exit | quit Exit the console.
set <variable>=<value> Store a variable for recall in commands.
show options Display list of options specified by the user on
launch.
show variables Display list of variables.
<ENTER> Press ENTER to execute command.
<ESCAPE> Press ESCAPE to clear the command entry.
<DOWN> Press DOWN to retrieve the previous command.
<UP> Press UP to retrieve the next command in history.
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Opening MySQL Utilities From MySQL Workbench
<TAB> Press TAB for type completion of utility, option,

or variable names.
<TAB><TAB> Press TAB twice for list of matching type
completion (context sensitive).
450

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What are the different editions of MySQL Workbench?

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What are the system requirements for installing MySQL Workbench?

What are the system requirements for installing MySQL Workbench?

MySQL Workbench

Document generated on: 2020-11-20 (revision: 68067)

6.1.2 Service Control ...................................................................................................... 138

9.2.3 Schema Validation Plugins ..................................................................................... 280

C Extending Workbench ................................................................................................................. 427

Access to Oracle Support

MySQL Workbench functionality covers five main topics:

1.1 What Is New in MySQL Workbench

1.1.1 New in MySQL Workbench 8.0 Release Series

• Character Set Changes

• Home Tab Changes

• MySQL Workbench Editors: Query, Object, and More

• SQL Export Options

• MySQL Model Changes

• MySQL Enterprise Backup (MEB)

• SET PERSIST and SET PERSIST ONLY Functionality

• Platform and Source Code Changes

• Generic RunTime (GRT) Module Changes

• Locking clause for query expressions.

• Table values constructor.

• Short table select syntax.

• Format support for EXPLAIN ANALYZE statements.

• New and changed keywords:

• Value references in INSERT statements.

• Random passwords in CREATE USER and ALTER USER statements.

• EXPLAIN ANALYZE (see Obtaining Information with EXPLAIN ANALYZE).

• binary collation names.

• CHECK constraints with enforcement.

• The equal sign (=) operator for aliases is no longer allowed.

• CHANGE MASTER supports NETWORK_NAMESPACE and channels.

• The CREATE DATABASE statement permits a default encryption to be specified.

• MEMBER OF is allowed in expressions.

• AS ARRAY is allowed in CAST expressions.

• Passwords in user statements can now also be hexadecimal numbers.

• Hexadecimal numbers are also allowed in many numeric expressions.

Character Set Changes

• Support for the Chinese character set gb18030 was added.

Home Tab Changes

MySQL Workbench Editors: Query, Object, and More

SQL Export Options

MySQL Model Changes

MySQL Enterprise Backup (MEB)

SET PERSIST and SET PERSIST ONLY Functionality

Platform and Source Code Changes

• MySQL Workbench 8.0.18 switched to the C++17 programming language.

• Setting an encryption password is required to perform MySQL Enterprise Backup operations on

• MySQL Workbench now supports the caching_sha2_password authentication plugin introduced in

Generic RunTime (GRT) Module Changes

1.1.2 New in MySQL Workbench 6.0 Release Series

1.1.2.1 New in MySQL Workbench 6.3

• User Interface Changes

• User Preference Changes

• Package and Build Related Changes

• Fast Data Migration

• SSL Certificate Generator