We did a podcast about Query Editor in which we talked about the usefulness of this tool. Here is a written breakdown of that podcast for this specific ACS Adobe Experience Manager Tool. Remember, these should only be used in your non-production lanes.
What is it?
From the ACS GitHub page about Query Editor: “QueryEditor is a WebUI that allows QueryBuilder queries to be written, executed and debugged in real time.”
How it works
In October 2015, Joey wrote a blog post comparing and contrasting the three most prominent query engines in Adobe Experience Manager, but he would admit: “I have never totally gotten my brain wrapped around the Query Builder syntax.” Part of that is because Joey is more geared around the systems side of the house, but I think part of it is also the fact that he has always been very comfortable with XPath.
However, as Joey pointed out on the podcast, there are several things in Adobe Experience Manager that are either easier to do with Query Builder, or—in some cases—just not possible with the other syntaxes. So, if you’re like Joey, and you occasionally struggle with Query Builder syntax—or you just want to be able to more easily interact with the repository while working on your queries—here’s a tool to help. One note we’d like to add: we have found using the “Auto-Query” feature to be pretty sluggish, unless you have very little content in the repo.
Example application
Perhaps you know the subset of node you need to work with, and—since this will be a regular process you need to run—you’re trying to find the most effective way to leverage Query Builder to select those nodes. You could use the Query Editor to fine tune your query, and validate that it gives you the desired set of nodes, before putting it into your code for deployment.