Dave, If you are talking about copying records between tables in *different* databases, postgresql currently doesn't support this. If you are talking about *within* the same database, 'INSERT with a SELECT CLAUSE', 'SELECT INTO', and similar commands exist.
As far as I know; #1 Sounds good in theory, doesn't really work in practice so I can see why you can't do it in pgAdmin. #2 That would be a cool feature. You can already specify the column(s) to export. Perhaps you want to put in a feature request. #3.Yep. that's my understanding too. Like using dynamite to remove a splinter. #4 Use SQL Statements *designed for this* in a query window (see above). In the end pgAdmin is *nice* but no substitute for some good ol' fashioned SQL. Just open up a query tool window and go to town. I hope that helps, rik. On Fri, Mar 22, 2019 at 8:36 AM Dave Caughey <caugh...@gmail.com> wrote: > Sorry, for the basic question, but I'm not sure if there are bug(s) in > pgAdmin, or just that I'm clueless. (My money lies on the latter!) > > Imagine the scenario where you are adding a feature to a product that > requires adding some new rows to a configuration table, and as part of the > patch you need to replicate a bunch of record from your development > database to your production databases. > > You'd think there'd be a number of options, e.g., > > 1. After doing a "View/Edit..." | "Filter by", select the displayed > records, click "copy" to get them on to the clipboard, then go to the > production database, do a "View/Edit..." on the corresponding table, and > paste. But, in my case, I need my auto-sequenced "id" column to be omitted > (so it gets re-generated in the new table), so perhaps this isn't the right > choice. Even worse, over the years, my database tables (auto-created via > Hibernate used in a Java Servlet) no longer have the same column order. > (Question: is there no way that copy-and-paste between tables can consider > the column names so copying between (int id,int feature_id,text name) and > (int id,text name,int feature_id) is possible?) > > 2. Or, I could right-click on the table and use Import/Export..." > (Question: is there a way to filter the records that will get exported? > Or is there a way to trigger import/export on the results of a > "View/Edit..." | "Filter by"?). However, here the issue is the columns no > longer have the same order (e.g., (int,int,text) vs (int,text,int)) so > "Import/Export..." fails. (Question: Is that not what the "Header" toggle > is supposed to do? I see that enabling it during export *adds* a header > to the export files, but shouldn't enabling it during import cause it to be > used to identify the order?). This method has the attraction that I can > use the "Columns" tab to exclude one of the columns from my export (i.e., > my auto-sequenced "id" column). > > 3. Or, I could do a "Backup..." and then a corresponding "Restore..." , > but I noticed that there the generated file contains CREATE DATABASE bits > of code even though the "Include CREATE DATABASE" toggle in the Backup..." > dialog is set to "No" (Question: bug, or my misunderstanding?). But I'm > guessing that a backup/restore will generally do a complete and utter > restore, rather than just moving some data. > > 4. Other options? > > So, what is the best/simplest way to copy data between tables, given the > possibility that some/all might apply? > > - The columns may be in a different order in different databases > - One column might need be left blank > - I only want to copy some of the records > > Cheers, > Dave >
