Query Sheets, Tabs and the Sheet List¶

Sui lets you keep many SQL queries open at the same time, each in its own query sheet. A sheet is a workspace that remembers:

the SQL text in the editor,
the timestamp of the last execution,
(optionally) the connection it was last run on, and
(optionally) a custom background colour for the tab.

There are two ways to navigate between sheets:

The tab strip at the bottom of the editor (the "TabbedPane").
The Query Sheet Overview panel on the right side of the main window.

Both views are kept in sync — switching tabs highlights the matching row in the Sheet Overview, and clicking a row in the Sheet Overview switches the active tab.

1. The tab strip (query sheets)¶

The tab strip sits at the bottom of the SQL editor.

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  SQL editor                                                  │
│                                                              │
│                                                              │
│                                                              │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ] [ 7 ] [ 8 ] ...        │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Fixed slots, not a "new tab" button¶

Sui creates a fixed number of sheets at start-up (default 12). To change the number, open File → Preferences → Start up tab and pick a new value from the Number of Sheets drop-down (6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 48, 60 or 90). The new value is written to SUI.MAXSHEET in SuiSys.pro and takes effect on the next start-up.

There is no "new tab" or "close tab" button — every slot is permanent. To "clear" a sheet, simply select it and delete its SQL.

Switching sheets¶

Method	Effect
Click a tab in the strip	Activates that sheet
Click a row in the Query Sheet Overview	Activates that sheet
Drag-and-drop a row in the Sheet Overview	Reorders the sheets

Renaming a sheet¶

Right-click on the tab itself to open the Change Sheet label dialog. You can also rename inline by double-clicking the Sheet column in the Sheet Overview panel (see §3).

Per-sheet connection memory¶

If you set SUI.KEEPSVARS=Y in SuiSys.pro (or tick the corresponding option in File → Preferences), each sheet additionally remembers its own connection (driver, URL, user). Switching to a sheet restores the connection that was active the last time it was used. With SUI.KEEPSVARS=N (the default), the current connection stays the same when you switch sheets.

Hiding the tab strip¶

If you prefer to navigate purely from the Sheet Overview, hide the tab strip via:

Options → Query Tabs (toggles visibility), or
by setting SUI.QUERYTABS=N in SuiSys.pro.

The sheets still exist — only the tab row disappears.

Persistence and recovery¶

All sheet content is saved automatically to SuiSheetProp.pro in your SuiHome folder:

on shutdown,
periodically while Sui is running, and
whenever you switch sheets.

A single-generation backup (SuiSheetProp.pro.bak) plus 30 days of timestamped snapshots under SuiBup/ protect you against corruption. See Profile Recovery for the full procedure.

2. Show / hide the Query Sheet Overview¶

Options → Query Sheet Overview (toggles the panel)
Tick Show Query Sheet List at startup under File → Preferences → Start up to open it automatically (this sets SUI.SHOWSHEETLIST=Y in SuiSys.pro).

The panel docks on the right side of the main window. Note that the Sheet Overview and the Favourites bar share the same slot — only one of the two can be visible at a time. Showing the Sheet Overview hides the Favourites bar and vice versa.

3. Inside the Query Sheet Overview¶

┌── Query Sheet Overview ─────────────┐
│  Find:  [ ____________ ] [Search]   │
│         [ ] AND/OR    [Clear]       │
│ ┌──┬─────────────────┬────────────┐ │
│ │■ │  Sheet          │  Last Run  │ │
│ ├──┼─────────────────┼────────────┤ │
│ │■ │  daily_report   │ 2026-06-06 │ │
│ │  │  cleanup_temp   │ 2026-06-05 │ │
│ │■ │  3              │            │ │
│ │  │  4              │            │ │
│ │  │  ...                          │ │
│ └──┴─────────────────┴────────────┘ │
│        [Reset]  [Clear colours]      │
│        [Close]                       │
└──────────────────────────────────────┘

Columns¶

Column	What it shows
Colour	A small swatch. Click to pick a colour for the tab; right-click to clear it.
Sheet	The sheet name (defaults to its number). Double-click to rename inline.
Last Run	Timestamp of the last query execution on this sheet.

Selecting and opening a sheet¶

Single-click a row to switch the editor to that sheet.
Double-click to do the same explicitly.
The active row stays highlighted as you click tabs in the strip, and scrolls into view when you switch tabs via the keyboard or programmatically.

Right-click on a row¶

Menu item	Action
Open selected tab	Switch the editor to that sheet
Rename sheet…	Prompt for a new name
Show content in query box	Open the SQL of that sheet in a separate window

Reordering sheets¶

Drag a row up or down to move that sheet. All associated data (SQL text, timestamp, connection info, colour, name) follows the row. The moved row is automatically re-selected after the drop.

Sorting¶

Click a column header to sort by that column. Sorting is visual only — sheet numbers are unchanged, and selecting a row still opens the correct sheet. Click Reset at the bottom to return to the original tab order.

Finding sheets by content¶

Type a term in the Find box and press Enter or click Search. Rows whose SQL contains that term are highlighted in yellow. Tick AND/OR to use compound expressions:

term1 AND term2 — both terms must appear
term1 OR term2 — either term must appear
IN (a, b, c) — any of the listed values

Click Clear to remove highlights.

Buttons at the bottom¶

Button	Effect
Reset	Clear any active sort and return to tab-order
Clear colours	Remove the custom background colour from every tab
Close	Hide the panel (same as the Options menu toggle)

Column widths are remembered between sessions.

4. Bidirectional sync at a glance¶

                     ┌──────────────┐
   click a row  ─▶  │  Sheet List  │  ◀─  switch a tab
                     └──────┬───────┘
                            │  bidirectional
                            ▼
                     ┌──────────────┐
                     │  TabbedPane  │
                     └──────────────┘

The link works in both directions and is guarded against infinite echo, so you can navigate from either side without surprises. Sort or filter in the Sheet Overview is purely cosmetic — the underlying sheet numbers stay the same.

5. Tip: Sheet Overview vs. tab strip¶

If you want to…	Use…
See all sheets in one glance	Query Sheet Overview
Search SQL across all sheets	Query Sheet Overview (Find)
Reorder, recolour or rename sheets	Query Sheet Overview
Quickly hop between two sheets	Click on the tab strip
Save screen real-estate	Hide the tab strip (Options menu)

6. Result windows — a different kind of tab¶

The tab strip described above only holds SQL editor sheets. Query result windows have their own tab system in the Result Window — you can dock multiple results into one tabbed frame, or release them back to free-floating windows with the toolbar buttons. The two systems are independent.

Related properties (`SuiSys.pro`)¶

All of the settings below live in SuiSys.pro (in your SuiHome folder). Most of them have a checkbox or drop-down in File → Preferences; you only need to edit the file by hand for the ones that don't.

Property	Default	Purpose
`SUI.MAXSHEET`	12	Number of sheets created at start-up (Preferences → Start up)
`SUI.QUERYTABS`	Y	Show the tab strip at the bottom of the editor
`SUI.SHOWSHEETLIST`	N	Open the Sheet Overview automatically at start-up
`SUI.KEEPSVARS`	N	Remember a separate connection per sheet
`SUI.DSIZESHEETLIST`	200	Width of the Sheet Overview panel
`SUI.DSIZESHEETCOL.1`	80	Width of the Sheet column
`SUI.DSIZESHEETCOL.2`	90	Width of the Last Run column
`SUI.TABCOLOR.<n>`	—	Background colour of sheet n (`#RRGGBB`)