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Chapter 5 Schema & Model Architecture

Chapter 5: Visual Schema Designer

Info: This chapter explains visualizing table schemas (reverse engineering), designing tables and foreign-key relations with drag-and-drop, and exporting the canvas as a visual output. The relationship canvas is table-focused; it is not a general view/routine dependency analyzer.

In this chapter:

5.1 Visualizing a Schema with Reverse Engineering

Reading the relations between tables in a large database from DDL code is tedious. SQLOZ collects supported table metadata and converts it to a visual canvas.

  1. Right-click the database name in the left sidebar.
  2. Select Design Schema….
  3. SQLOZ reads all tables, column types and Primary/Foreign Key relations and arranges them as colored cards.

Each column type on a card is shown with a badge.

BadgeMeaning
PK (gold)Primary Key
FK (blue)Foreign Key
UQ (emerald)Unique Index
AI (orange)Auto-Increment

Tip: Hovering over an FK badge highlights the related table in color, so the relations can be followed visually.

5.2 Designing Tables & Relations with Drag-and-Drop

To create a table or relation from scratch, follow these steps.

  1. Right-click an empty area of the canvas and choose Add Table….
  2. Add the table name, engine (e.g. InnoDB) and columns visually.
  3. To create a foreign key: Drag the user_id column of the payments card onto the id column of the users card.
  4. SQLOZ draws the relation line between the two tables and prepares the FOREIGN KEY (user_id) REFERENCES users(id) constraint in the background.
  5. Apply the generated SQL to the database with Save Changes.

5.3 Canvas Navigation & Visual Output

  • Zoom to fit (Cmd + 0): Fits all tables on one screen.
  • Find table (Cmd + F): Searches for a table name on the canvas and focuses on the relevant card.
  • Export (Diagram): Use the Export Diagram icon on the toolbar to save the table diagram as high-resolution PNG or vector PDF for management presentations and architectural documentation.

Visual schema designer canvas (ERD)