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How to Run a User Query

Learn how to find and run user queries by viewing an interactive guide or step-by-step instructions.

On this page:

How to Run an Unsaved Query

Before starting, you will need to find or create a query you would like to run. See How Find Available Open Dental Queries on this page for instructions on finding queries published by Open Dental. Only use queries from trusted sources as running some queries may result in unintended consequences.

  1. In the Main Menu, go to Reports.
  2. Click User Query.
  3. In the User Query window, click Paste to insert the query into the text box.
    • Some queries have variables within SET statements that can be used to filter results. You can edit the values between the quotation marks in this window before running the query. Available variables will differ between queries.
  4. Click Submit Query to run the query.
    • Use caution when running queries from sources other than Open Dental as some queries can alter your database.
    • Some queries may take several minutes to load. Query results are displayed in the User Query window.

See How to Save a Query for Later Use on this page for instructions on saving to User Query Favorites.

See How to Save Query Results on this page for instructions on exporting and printing query results.

How to Run a Saved Query

  1. In the Main Menu, go to Reports.
  2. Click User Query Favorites.
  3. In the User Query Favorites window, double-click the query you want to run.
    • Use the Search to find previously saved queries faster.
  4. 4. If there are variables to edit, the Query Variables window is displayed.
    • The values between the quotation marks can be changed to filter the results of the query as needed. Available variables will differ between queries.
  5. Click OK to run the query.
    • Some queries may take several minutes to load. Query results are displayed in the User Query window.

See How to Save a Query for Later Use on this page for instructions on saving to User Query Favorites.

See How to Save Query Results on this page for instructions on exporting and printing query results.

How Find Available Open Dental Queries

  1. Go to the Query Examples page in your web browser.
    • The Query Examples page lists over 1,500 available queries written by Open Dental that are free to use.
  2. Filter the results using the Category Limit dropdown menus. Up to three limits can be selected at once.
    • Additionally, you can use CTRL + F on your keyboard to search for keywords.
  3. Once you find the query you want, copy the entirety of the query text by clicking into the text box and using the keyboard shortcut CTRL + A to select all and then use CTRL + C or right-click and select Copy.
    • Not all queries will be accurate for all versions of Open Dental. Be sure to read the details listed after the title for more information.
  4. See How to Run an Unsaved Query on this page for further instructions.

Not finding the query you need? Customers currently on support can reach out to Open Dental for assistance in finding a query or making simple modifications to an existing Query Example.

Open Dental offers an additional service to write custom queries and make complex modifications to existing Query Examples, see Query Requests for more information and to submit a request.

How to Save Query Results

In this section:

How to Print Query Results

  1. In the User Query window, run the desired query.
  2. In the top-right, select the Print Orientation you would like to use.
  3. (Optional) Click Print Preview to see the report before printing.
  4. Click Print to send the report to the printer.
How to Export Query Results

  1. In the User Query window, run the desired query.
  2. Click Export .csv for a comma-delimited CSV file or click Export .txt for a tab-delimited text file.
  3. Select the file path you'd like to save to and rename the file if desired.
    • Set the default folder for exported queries in Data Paths Setup (OpenDentalExports).
  4. Click Save.
  5. The file was successfully created under the name and location you previously selected. Click OK to close.

How to Save a Query for Later Use

  1. In the Main Menu, go to Reports.
  2. Select User Query Favorites.
  3. In the User Query Favorites window, click New.
    • Alternatively, in the User Query window, click the Add to Favorites button.
  4. In the Edit Favorite window, paste the query you want to save into the Query Text box
  5. In the Title field, type in the name you would like to save the report under. This title will show when printing the report.
  6. (Optional) At the bottom of the window, enter an Export File Name.
    • This will be the default file name used when exporting results for this query.
  7. Click Save.

To run a query from the favorites list, see steps for How to Run a Saved Query.

Additional Resources

See our videos: QuickTip: Find and Run a Query in Open Dental and QuickTip: Custom Query Process Overview.
See our infographic, Searching for Query Examples, for a step-by-step guide on finding and running queries.