How can we help users build queries more easily?

What are the most common tasks the users take to get data they need?

I think that the vast majority of time users spend to build the right conditions to limit the data to the extent they need. Next, grouping and sorting the data.

Can we do anything to help users build these parts faster? I am sure we can. And the first thing we can do is to show that data to them, so users can see if the data meet their expectations. That's why we've recently put the sub-query data preview grid to all the "Full-featured" demo projects for Active Query Builder for .NET and on the live demo web page. This way users can check the data and correct the query if they see wrong results.

And the next obvious thing we should do is to let users define conditions, order and grouping in the query right from the sub-query preview grid. For example, they should be able to add the condition for a field by right-clicking on the specific data value: "where [field] <operation> 'that value'".

It looks like one of the things that might have been implemented long time ago. That's right, but the next minor version is the right point at which we can add this feature today.

Do you think we can help users build better queries in some other way? We'll be damn grateful for your feedback!