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Queries
A Query is a saved, reusable question — usually written in SQL — that returns a set of rows. Queries behave like any other record in Xperios: you can list, add, edit, and delete them from the Query page, and search or filter the list by name.
Run opens the results in the current tab; Run In New Window opens them in a new browser tab, which is the easy way to compare two sets of parameter values side by side.
Archiving rather than deleting
Delete removes a query permanently. That is a problem if a Report or a Dashboard Item is still built on it, so for a query you have simply finished with, use Archive instead.
An archived query drops out of the list but is not destroyed, and anything depending on it keeps working. Restore brings it back. Neither asks for confirmation, because both can be undone — unlike Delete, which cannot.
Master queries
Some queries are Master queries — shared centrally and available to every organisation using Xperios. You can run a Master query and see its results like any other, but you can't edit it from your own database; it is locked (shown with a padlock icon) and can only be changed centrally.
If you need a variant of a Master query, save your own copy under a different name.
Query types
A query's Data Source setting says what it is for: General Query, Report, Marketing List, or Process. Most are General Queries.
Setting it to Marketing List turns on batch emailing of the results.
Process queries
A Process query does not run SQL at all. It calls a piece of built-in logic instead — a School Contract SLA calculation, or the pending direct billed invoices — which can behave differently depending on your own configuration, such as your academic year settings.
You run one exactly like any other query; the work simply happens on the server.