\pset

Sets options that control how Vertica formats query result output.

Syntax

\pset output-option

Output Options

Unless otherwise specified, output options are valid for all formats.

format format‑option

Sets output format, where format‑option is one of the following:

  • u[naligned] writes all column data of each row on a single line, where each field is separated only by the current separator character. Use this output for use as input to other programs—for example, comma-delimited fields for CSV input.
  • a[ligned] (default):  Renders column-aligned output.
  • h[tml]: Renders output in HTML markup as a table.
  • l[atex]: Renders output in LaTex markup.
border int

Valid only if output format is set to html, specifies the table border, where int specifies the border type.

expanded

Toggles between regular and expanded format. When expanded format is enabled, all output has two columns with the column name on the left and the data on the right. This mode is especially useful for wide tables.

fieldsep 'arg'

Valid only if output format is set to unaligned, specifies the field separator, by default | (vertical bar).

For example, to specify tab as the field separator:

\pset fieldsep '\t'
footer

Toggles display of the default footer:

(int rows)

null 'string'

Specifies to represent column null values as string. By default, Vertica renders null values as an empty field, which might be mistaken as an empty string.

For example:

\pset null '(null)'
pager [always]

Toggles use of a pager for query and vsql help output. If the environment variable PAGER is set, the output is piped to the specified program. Otherwise a platform-dependent default (such as more) is used.

When the pager is off, the pager is not used. When the pager is on, the pager is used only when appropriate; that is, the output is to a terminal and does not fit on the screen. (vsql does not do a perfect job of estimating when to use the pager.)

If qualified with the argument always, the pager is always used.

recordsep 'char'

Valid only if output format is set to unaligned, specifies the character used to delimit table records (tuples), by default a newline character.

tableattr html‑attribute[…]

Specifies attributes to be placed inside the HTML table tag—for example, cellpadding or bgcolor.

title ['title‑str']

Sets a title that precedes query result output, to title‑str. HTML output renders this as follows:

<caption>title-str</caption>

To remove the title, reissue the command omit the title‑str argument.

trailingrecordsep Toggles on or off the trailing record separator to use in unaligned output mode.
t[uples_only]

Toggles between tuples only and full display. Full display might show extra information such as column headers, titles, and various footers. In tuples only mode, only actual table data is shown.

Shortcuts

The following \pset commands have short-cuts:

PSET command Shortcut
\pset expanded
\x
\pset fieldsep 'arg'
\f
\pset format aligned
\a
\pset format html 
\H
\pset tableattr html‑attribute[…]
\T html‑attribute[…]
\pset title title-str
\C ['title-str']
\pset tuples_only
\t

Examples

See Output Formatting Examples.