Kexi/FAQ

KEXI Frequently Asked Questions. Contact us if you have interesting entry for this page.

General Features

What are KEXI features and what is missing?

Read the KEXI Features page. Use the Handbook. For missing features in recent releases look at the "Unsupported features" section of the release document

Should I use a database servers with KEXI?

You can use database server if you need certain features that it provides, but it is not necessary. You can use the file-based built-in database engine that always comes with KEXI, called SQLite. It is very much like MS Access, but more modern, robust, and secure. And well, it's the most widely deployed database engine in the world!

How to use database servers with Kexi?

KEXI can currently connect to PostgreSQL and MySQL servers. Create a new blank database project on your server using KEXI. At first time, you will be asked to provide a connection information such as username and password, and a database name. Later you will be able to reuse this information. You can also use command line options to create and delete database projects.

Please note:

KEXI assumes that the account used for the database server has sufficient permissions for database creation and further data modification. If it is not the case you may want to add needed permissions using database administration tools of choice. KEXI does not currently support such administration tasks. If you are unsure how to perform the tasks, ask your database administrators or your support.
Currently you can not "open" (i.e. connect to) databases that were created without KEXI. You can only create a new database in KEXI and import existing tables and data from other existing database, or you can import existing database to KEXI, what will duplicate it.
The database connection information is stored in so-called .kexis shortcut files for later reuse. Read about them in the Command Line Options documentation.
If certain database drivers such as MySQL are missing in the "Creating New Project" assistant, make sure that you have installed KEXI with appropriate support for databases.

How stable is KEXI?

Read the Stability Statement document.

Where can I find KEXI documentation?

A pretty good handbook for KEXI 2 has been published at https://userbase.kde.org/Kexi/Handbook. Translation to other languages may be available.

How could I define database relationships with integrity rules for my tables?

General support for relationships is not yet available. It is however possible to use Combo box widgets to select values in table and form views. This is a simple to one-to-many relationship.

Can I make reports and printouts for my data in KEXI?

KEXI has it's own fully-featured Report Designer which allows to generate report files or print data on printers, and preview the results.

Can I display web pages in KEXI?

There are browser-like web elements for KEXI Forms and Reports that can fetch online or local HTML pages with resources and display them. In Forms they are interactive.

Is it possible to rename a table field in an existing table without losing the data? Or add/delete it?

There are no functions in KEXI to achieve this. Advanced users can use a workaround explained in this message. The idea is to copy the data outside of the table, alter the table design, what empties it, and then import the data back to the altered table.

How to use the LIKE operator?

The KEXI's Visual Query Designer does not currently accept LIKE expressions such as 'abc%'. The query SQL View can be used as a workaround. Enter SQL condition such as "SELECT owner FROM cars WHERE cars.model LIKE 'Ford%'. This message provides more information.

How to open or create a new object or print data in KEXI automatically after opening the project?

KEXI may be asked to open a table/query/form, create a new object or print data automatically after opening the database. To do so, you can add command line options when you run KEXI. Please read the "Options related to opening objects" section of the Command Line Options documentation. You can provide a desktop shortcut that is convenient for your users, containing appropriate options. For example a shortcut can have made executing "kexi --open query:myquery mydb.kexi" command for automatic display of myquery query. This approach is possible with any operating system. Arbitrary number of such "auto-opening" options can be specified.