To customize an existing interface, the user just clicks on the area of the screen to be changed. QueryDesigner automatically adjusts the queries to reflect the user's changes. QueryDesigner generates the Web page that the user will see, and creates a template for how user choices will activate SQL queries to the remote database. When query results are received, the tool embeds them into additional Web pages, then displays them to the user. The tool contacts the target database on behalf of the user and queries it to obtain the structure of the database.
Any associated metadata is retrieved as well, although there is no requirement that it be present.
QueryDesigner uses this information to construct a diagram showing how the data is organized into tables and how tables relate to one another. The diagram is actually interactive. By clicking on boxes and connectors, the user can compose queries without needing to understand database concepts such as projections or joins. The user can also make the diagram more understandable by moving the boxes or adding personal annotations. QueryDesigner was developed by Mark Newsome in collaboration with Cherri Pancake.