WPDA 5.4.0 will introduce a complete new Data Explorer interface. In this post, we’ll show you the parts that are new and how you can start experimenting using the new UI.

Later on, we’ll also discuss when and how these changes will affect your projects.

Switching to the new interface

After updating to version 5.4, the new IU will be available by toggling “Switch to New Data Explorer” from the upper right corner of the Data Explorer page.

The new UI will have a tree-based view. The landing page will show a list of all available databases by default. You can click the filter icon on the upper right corner to filter out which databases to show.

Exploring a database

You can explore a database by clicking on its name. This will expand to show the following:
– Tables
– Views
– Stored Procedures
– Functions

Tables

Click on a table name to expand and view the following:
– Columns
– Indexes
– Foreign Keys
– Triggers

Clicking on Manage will bring out a side window where you can find your table actions and settings. Please note that some settings are moved to the Table and Form Builder. More on this later. 🙂

There’s a new area called Reset under Settings. You can use the options in this section to go back to the default settings. If you wish to change anything from the old settings, you need to go back to the old data explorer view. You can switch between the new and old version as often as you like.

Exploring a table

To explore a table, click on the Explore link beside Manage. Exploring and editing the rows on a table no longer requires a complete page load.

Table and Form Builders

The older versions of WP Data Access require you to configure tables and forms for your table on separate parts of the plugin. The new version has eliminated the separation and the table builder is now directly available and configurable from the upper right corner of a table’s explore page. Changes and configurations appear in real-time on your table as you set them, but you still need to save your settings to finalize your changes. Feel free to explore this area and see all the improvements.

The new form builder offers more customization than the previous version. To access the form builder, edit a row entry on your table to bring up the form. From the upper right menu, click on Form Builder. Similar to the new table builder, any changes made will appear real-time on your form before saving them.

New customization features include:
– Layouts & Grid positioning
– Field validations
– Custom color themes
– Custom font families & sizes
– Specific column settings
– and more…

Frontend Tables

A table will look exactly like how it looks on the new data explorer page. This makes it easier for users to reconfigure or update the table and form settings.

Currently, this option is only available for admin users. Later on, we will introduce role-based access.

Tables outside of WordPress

Version 5.4 introduces a strong separation between client and server code. This means the new client will work with or without WordPress. The server code is currently only available for WordPress, but will soon be available as a standalone solution as well. This will allow users to connect more easily to other databases such as SQL Server, MS Access, and PostgreSQL.

The image above shows a table being run outside of WordPress. This is not yet available but should give you an idea of the plugin’s direction.

Conversion tools will be available to help you convert your existing tables and projects. Please keep an eye out on our development progress and updates and convert your tables and projects where possible.

Later on, we will also migrate charts and dashboards. By then, your WP Data Access toolbar will be much more simpler and easier to understand.

Please check out the video below to see the full introduction of the new Data Explorer UI for version 5.4. 🙂

We appreciate any comments and feedback regarding this update.