For anybody interested in trying out our new MySQL Workbench 5.2 Alpha2 I have prepared a short Quick-Tour that will show you the most important steps to successfully use WB to query your databases.

Manage Your Connections

MySQL Workbench 5.2 introduces a new Home Page that makes it very easy to access all your Database Connections and EER Models. It features the Workbench Central Panel, the Database Connections Panel and the Model Files Panel.

In order to be able to connect to your  MySQL server you have to create a new Database Connection so MySQL Workbench knows about your server instance. Follow the steps shown below to create your first Database Connection.

Click on the screen shot to see it at full size.

Connecting to and Working with the MySQL Server

Once you have created your connection, a new Connection Icon will appear on the Database Connections Panel. Double-click this icon to open a SQL Editor for this connection.The next screen-shot shows how to query the database.

Again, click on the image to see it at full size.

Apart from writing SQL statements in the editor, you can also load scripts via the tool bar buttons.

As you can see it is really straight forward to use the Database Connection management and the new Query Functionality inside of MySQL Workbench 5.2. The current Alpha2 is a very early release but it already shows off some of the potential the final WB 5.2 GA feature set release will offer.

Please give it a try and tell us which features you would like to see in the future. But please remember, this is an Alpha version, so do not work on critical production data.