Overview
This handbook quickly covers the main features of the Catch-Phrase Natural Language Interface. It walks you through the NLI's interactive features, record management, and tools like the Batch Loader. Each section includes screenshots and explanations to help you become a power user of the system.
1. Getting Started over Geo
The Natural Language Interface (NLI) allows users to interact with a database in an intuitive way. Here we focus on the example Geo database that delivers with Catch-Phrase. Upon launching Geo, you will see the interface screen as shown below.
On the interface, there's a small green book icon button with the tooltip "Show Corpus". When clicked, a panel appears showing a curated list of example questions users can ask. These examples demonstrate the kind of natural language questions that can be interpreted and responded to.
🎯 Purpose of the Feature
The goal of this feature is to:
Guide new users by showing typical questions they can ask.
Help users learn how to phrase queries effectively.
Offer quick, editable templates that users can modify to fit their needs.
🔹 What Appears in the Panel
The panel includes:
- A header that says “Corpus: examples” and a small close (×) button.
- A list of example questions such as:
“Give me the cities in California”
“What is the population of New York”
“Give me the largest state”
...and more.
Each example appears inside a search box for editing and resubmission.
🧭 Interactions Supported
Clicking the “Show Corpus” button displays the panel.
Clicking the close icon hides it.
Clicking the search icon next to an example submits that query.
Users can also edit examples before submission.
✅ Why This Is Useful
This is especially helpful for first-time users, demonstrating system capabilities, saving time with templates, and improving natural language learning.
2. Search Capabilities
The Search feature of Catch-Phrase.com allows users to type natural language queries into a dynamic search box and receive immediate, structured results.
🔍 Core Features
- Search Input Box: Accepts natural language queries with real-time processing.
- Paraphrase and Result Count: Shows how the system interprets the input and how many results were returned.
- Action Icons: Access SQL, download CSV, pin the query, or share it with others.
- Tabular Display: Results shown in sortable, paginated tables for easy analysis.
✅ Benefits
- Quick data access using simple English.
- Visibility into SQL for learning and verification.
- Data export for further offline analysis.
- Share and pin queries for future use.
👥 Who It Helps
- Business analysts querying datasets.
- Non-developers exploring complex databases.
- Teachers demonstrating data exploration techniques.
- Teams collaborating on shared queries.
📘 Summary
The search bar is the front door to the Catch-Phrase system. It translates questions into queries, returns live data, and supports collaboration and analysis through its export, SQL, and pinning tools.
3. Schema Explorer
The Right sidebar of Catch-Phrase contains a powerful assistant for exploring your database schema and values. It includes interactive tools to discover tables, columns, values, and joins.
This panel helps users browse the schema without needing to write SQL or consult documentation.
🧭 Main Functional Areas
- Relations: A button that fetches and displays tables/views such as City, State, Lake, etc.
- Columns: A dropdown that, when a table is selected, shows its fields (e.g., City → name, population).
- Values: Expands column details within tables like River → name, length.
- Joins: Lists related tables that can be joined in natural language queries.
✅ Benefits
- Schema Discovery: See all available tables and columns.
- Query Support: Helps guide valid and complete query creation.
- Interactive Learning: Makes exploring the data model easy and visual.
- Efficient Joins: Use predefined relationships to simplify queries.
🧩 Who This Helps
- Data analysts exploring schema while forming queries.
- Developers building natural language interfaces.
- Non-technical users needing intuitive guidance.
- Trainers or educators demonstrating database structure.
📘 Summary
The Right Navigation Panel is your interactive guide to the database structure. With just a few clicks, you can browse tables, examine fields, and understand how everything connects—making query building fast, visual, and accurate.
4. Pinned Questions
The "Pinned Questions" feature allows users to save their favorite or frequently used queries for easy access.
Click the thumbtack icon to pin a question. The pinned panel lets you edit, run, delete, or reorder them.
🎯 Purpose
This feature is designed to:
- Let users bookmark important queries.
- Save time by allowing quick re-use of questions.
- Personalize experience with a custom question list.
- Help organize and manage complex or repetitive queries.
🧭 User Flow & Interactions
- Click “Pinned Questions” button to open the panel.
-
View a list of pinned questions with options:
- Editable search box
- Search icon to submit query
- Delete icon to remove the pin
- Move icon to reorder questions
- Close the panel with the “X” button.
5. Add Record: Add City Form
When the user types add city into the main search bar, a dynamic form appears.
This allows users to input data for a new city record.
🧭 How It Works
When the user types add city into the main search bar, a dynamic form
appears. This allows users to input data for a new city record.
📝 Form Fields
- Name: Text input for the city name.
- State Name: Dropdown menu of U.S. states.
- Population: Numeric field for population count.
- Description: Multi-line textarea for additional context.
🔘 Buttons and Actions
- Done: Submits the form and adds the city.
- Cancel: Closes the form without saving.
✅ Purpose & Benefits
| Feature | Purpose/Benefit |
|---|---|
| Form-Based Input | Structured entry without SQL knowledge. |
| State Dropdown | Ensures consistency and avoids typos. |
| Inline Integration | Keeps the user within the main interface. |
| Natural Language Trigger | Intuitive command like “add city” launches form. |
🎯 Ideal For
- Admins managing geographical datasets
- Analysts adding new entries
- Educators practicing structured data entry
6. Edit Existing Record
Users can edit existing rows directly by clicking the Edit button.
🧭 How It Works
Each row has an Edit button. Clicking it opens a form with that record’s current values for inline editing.
🔘 Button Behavior
- Label: “Edit”
- Function: Opens editable fields in a modal or expandable row
📝 User Flow
- User clicks the Edit button.
- Fields become editable.
- User updates and saves.
- Backend updates the record.
✅ Purpose & Benefits
| Feature | Purpose/Benefit |
|---|---|
| Inline Editing | Quick updates directly in place. |
| Field Validation | Prevents bad data entry. |
| Consistency | Familiar UI across Add/Edit. |
| Efficiency | No page switching required. |
🎯 Ideal For
- Admins updating records
- Analysts refining data
- Trainers demoing data flows
7. Delete Record
When a user types "Delete" followed by a valid record or table name in the main search bar, the system prompts them to confirm the deletion by entering the exact number of affected records.
🧭 How It Works
When a delete action affects many records, the system shows a confirmation prompt. The user must type the exact number of records to confirm.
🔍 UI Elements
- Message: E.g., "delete cities affects 369 record(s)"
- Input Field: User must enter "369"
- Validation: Confirm button remains disabled
- Confirm: Enabled only with valid input
- Cancel: Exits the process
✅ Purpose & Benefits
| Feature | Purpose/Benefit |
|---|---|
| Manual Confirmation | Avoids accidental mass deletes |
| Validation Check | Ensures user understands impact |
| Clear Messaging | Displays exact record count |
| User Control | Cancel button gives safe exit |
🎯 Ideal For
- Admins doing batch deletes
- Systems with data compliance needs
- Any interface where safety is critical
8. Analyse Database - GEO
When a user clicks the Geo button in the header, the system automatically appends @analyse
database in the search input and runs a query to analyze the geo-related database tables.
9. Batch Loader
The Batch Loader is a powerful editor designed for large-scale data transformation and quick scripting actions.
Key Features
- Resizable Editor: Paste multi-line data easily.
- Text Tools: Add to start/end, quote lines.
- Keyboard Shortcut:
Ctrl + Hfor find and replace. - Execution Tools: Submit lines, clear editor, reprocess.
Use Cases
- Prepare SQL
INclause lists - Reformat CSV for JSON/XML
- Batch edit configuration entries
- Submit values to NLP processor step-by-step
✅ Benefits
| Benefit | Description |
|---|---|
| Batch Processing | Lets users work with multiple queries at once. |
| Automation-Friendly | Streamlines repetitive or pattern-based editing with bulk tools. |
| Precision Editing | Users can apply consistent changes across all lines. |
| Power User Focus | Great for developers, analysts, or admins running many tests. |
10. Logout Button
The Logout button is a standard user interface element that allows a user to securely end their session on the Catch-Phrase platform.
Summary
This handbook aims to empower users with the knowledge to efficiently interact with the Catch-Phrase platform. The combined power of the NLI, batch tools, and editing features ensures robust and flexible data management.