Explore tables

In Catalog Explorer you can view table schema details, preview sample data, table type, table location, table history, frequent queries and users, and other details.

For information about using Catalog Explorer to set table ownership and permissions, see Manage Unity Catalog object ownership in Catalog Explorer and Manage Unity Catalog permissions in Catalog Explorer.

Select a table

  1. Display schemas.

  2. Select a schema.

  3. Click the Filter tables field. Optionally type a string to filter the tables.

    Filter tables
  4. Click a table. The table comment, owner, and size information displays and the selected Schema tab shows the table schema.

    Hover over the icon next to a column name to see its data type. If the table is partitioned, Search Icon (magnifying glass) appears next to the partition column.

    Table schema

View sample data

Click the Sample Data tab to view sample data.

Sample data

View table details

Click the Details tab to view the location of the table files, the type of table, and table properties.

Table details

View table history

If the table is a Delta table, you can click the History tab to view a timeline of changes to the table, including who made the change, the compute resource that was used, and where the change originated, such as a job or notebook.

Table history

View frequent queries and users

If the table is registered in Unity Catalog, you can view the most frequent queries made on the table and users who accessed the table in the past 30 days. See View frequent queries and users of a table.

Create a basic query

Click Create > Query to create a query that selects all columns and returns the first 1000 rows of results. You can modify the query after creation.

Create a quick dashboard

Click Create > Quick Dashboard to open a configuration page where you can select columns of interest and create a dashboard and supporting queries that provide some basic information using those columns and showcase dashboard-level parameters and other capabilities. You can modify the dashboard after creation, and you can share it with other users and configured notification destinations.

Animation showing how to create a quick dashboard