Toad Data Point 6.1

Toad Data Point 6.1

Release Notes

Tuesday, June 6, 2023

Contents

About Toad Data Point

Toad^® Data Point is a multi-platform database query tool built for anyone who needs to access data, understand data relationships, and quickly produce reports.

With Toad Data Point, you can:

• Connect to almost any database or ODBC data source (see the Release Notes for a list of tested ODBC connections)
• Write SQL queries and join data across all platforms
• Automate and schedule frequent and repetitive tasks
• Streamline data collection
• Collaborate with team members
• Export data in a variety of file formats

Toad Data Point provides a full-featured Database Explorer, Query Builder, and Editor for the following databases:

• Oracle®
• SQL Server® and SQL Azure
• IBM® DB2® (LUW and z/OS)
• SAP® ASE, IQ, SQL Anywhere, and HANA
• Teradata®
• MySQL
• Snowflake®

Toad Data Point also provides querying and reporting functionality via the following provider types:

• ODBC
• Business Intelligence and NoSQL data sources
• Microsoft® Excel®
• Microsoft Access®

ODBC Connections

The purpose of the ODBC provider is to offer basic connection and querying capabilities to any database that supports an ODBC 3.0 or later driver. For a list of databases tested with the ODBC provider, see the System Requirements in the Release Notes. This form of connectivity allows connections to databases such as Netezza, IBM iSeries, Ingres, and Vertica™. Because this form of connectivity is generic, it is not full-featured and may not be as robust as the fully-exploited providers for the other databases.

Business Intelligence and NoSQL Data Sources

Toad Data Point provides users with the ability to connect to non-traditional data sources, such as Business Intelligence and NoSQL sources. You can connect to these data sources and explore data and objects, query data, report results, and automate tasks.

The following data sources are supported:

Toad Data Point 6.1 is a minor release with new features, security enhancements, and resolved issues.

New Features

In Toad Data Point 6.1 the following new features were implemented:

The Information Page has been added to the Toad Workbook file

Adding all necessary information about the created new Toad Workbook file is now possible by creating and editing a workbook Information Page as a part of the workbook. The option for adding this page to the workbook is located in the main ribbon as a button, and clicking it will open the rich-text file editor in an additional tab. Closing that tab after adding/editing information will raise the Save dialog - if saved, the information page becomes a part of the workbook.

This page allows users to have all information present in one file to better understand why the workbook file was created in the first place and what it is used for before running or downloading it. Since the Information Page gets created along with the workbook, the content of the page will also be available in Toad Intelligence Central.

Workbook files created in earlier versions of Toad Workbook did not include this specific page. However, it is possible to add this page to those files using Toad Workbook 6.1

Option to trim char data type field when exporting data to Excel or CSV files

A new option has been added to the exporting functionality in Toad Data Point to accommodate the use case for preventing the export of spaces at the end of Char data type column values when exporting result sets (in case the values are shorter than the length specified in the column definition).

This option is located under the Options window | Environment section | Export and is unchecked by default.

Enabling this option would ensure that all columns in the exported result set containing char data types will only occupy the number of characters that match the value of the specific row by trimming extra spaces to the end of the string to match the column definition. The automatic trimming of the char data type also encompasses export pivot options, meaning that these settings will be applied when doing an export of a Pivot Grid for the following export options:

• Excel Pivot

• Excel Grid

• Excel Pivot View

• CSV

The shared reports recipient list is available for editing on the workbook run

The Shared Reports options in Toad Workbook allow you to create an email template with a list of recipients that will receive emails containing shared reports. If the "Prompt" checkbox is selected, a dialog with the recipient list will be displayed and available for editing as any other workbook variable when the workbook is run.

When sending emails to multiple recipients, it may be helpful to use distribution lists for sharing reports because the "To:" input field has a limit of 256 characters when composing an email.

Share reports settings will be saved and present in the published workbook and available for running on Toad Intelligence Central. If the "Prompt" checkbox is selected, a dialog with the recipient list will also be displayed and available for editing as any other workbook variable on Toad Intelligence Central.

Option to include Pivot Grid individual subtotals

An additional option for including individual subtotal rows in a Pivot Grid has been implemented. If the Pivot grid contains the subtotal rows, a new option in the right-click context menu allows you to choose whether the sum columns should be shown for a single row.

Search options in the data grid have been improved

The "Auto Filter Row" option is now enabled by default in the data grid to improve data search functionality by using conditional operators specific to the column's data type. An additional filter row is available in the Result set tab below the column headers.

These default settings can be changed by right-clicking on the column header and selecting the "Hide Auto Filter Row" option from the context menu.

An export option to preserve the original form of a Pivot grid

The "Excel Pivot View" option is available in the Pivot Grid drop-down menu and the Activity section of the Automation module, enabling users to export the Pivot Grid in the same form in which it is displayed in Toad Data Point.

This option is also available in Toad Workbook by adding the "Excel Pivot View" report step under the Report dialog for the Pivot Grid parent step.

Idea Pond

Got a great idea for a new Toad Data Point feature or enhancement? Share it with the Development Team and the Community by posting it on Idea Pond. Visit Toad Data Point - Idea Pond where you can submit your ideas. You can also read and vote on the enhancement ideas submitted by other Toad users.

Learn More

Remember, you can find blogs, videos, and forums at the Toad Data Point Community.

• Toad Data Point Videos - Learn about new features from product video demos.
• Toad Data Point Forum - Find answers to your questions in the forums.
• Toad Data Point Blog - Learn tips and tricks from blog posts.
• Toad Data Point - Idea Pond - Submit your idea to the Development Team.

System Requirements

Client Requirements

Before installing Toad, ensure that your client system meets the following minimum hardware and software requirements:

Server Requirements

Before installing Toad, ensure that your server meets the following minimum hardware and software requirements:

Virtualization Support

User Requirements

User Requirements to Install Toad

Only Windows Administrators and Power Users can install Toad.

Note: The following exceptions exist for Power Users:

• (DB2 only) A Power User can install Toad as long as this user belongs to the DB2ADMNS or DBUSERS group.

If an Administrator installs Toad, the Administrator can share the Toad shortcut icon on the desktop and menu items with any user—a Power User, Restricted User—on the computer.

If a Power User installs Toad, a Restricted User cannot do the following:

• Associate file extensions.
• View the Toad shortcut icon on the desktop or the Toad menu options in the Windows Start menu. As a workaround, Restricted Users can create a shortcut to Toad from the install directory and place the shortcut on their desktop.

User Requirements and Restrictions for Running Toad

The following describes the requirements and restrictions for users who launch and run Toad:

• (DB2 only) A Windows Power User or Restricted User must belong to the DB2ADMNS or DB2USERS group. To add the user to one of these groups, select Start | Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Computer Management | System Tools | Local Users and Groups | Groups | DB2ADMNS or DB2USERS.
• (DB2 only) A Windows Power User or Restricted User does not have the authority to add or remove DB2 catalog entries using the Toad Client Configuration wizard. However, these users can use the Import Profile function in the Toad Client Configuration wizard to import catalog entries to Toad.

• (DB2 only) To take full advantage of Toad for DB2 LUW functionality, the user ID specified in the Toad connection profile for each DB2 for LUW database connection requires the authorizations listed in the following document:

  ToadDB2LUWAuthorizations.xls

• (DB2 only) As a minimum requirement to manage a DB2 for z/OS subsystem in Toad, the user ID defined in the Toad connection profile for the subsystem must either have SYSADM privileges or SELECT privileges on the DB2 catalog tables. For a complete list of authorizations (and corresponding GRANT statements) a user requires to take full advantage of Toad for DB2 z/OS functionality, refer to the following document:

  ToadDB2zOSAuthorizations.doc

• To create or modify the QuestSoftware.ToadSecurity table to enable Toad Security, the user who maintains this table must have privileges to create, insert, update, and delete it. All other users need only the ability to read the QuestSoftware.ToadSecurity table to use Toad Security features.

Resolved Issues and Enhancements

The following is a list of issues addressed and enhancements implemented in this release of Toad Data Point:

Resolved Issues in 6.1

Enhancements in 6.1

• The QUALIFY clause with the ROW_NUMBER function replaced the TOP n operator when generating and visualizing a query through a Query Builder on a Teradata connection. This approach removes the restrictions that come with using the TOP n operator. Queries with the TOP n operator that are not subject to any limitations can still be successfully run in Toad Data Point.