# Bookmarks

Note

You need to have configured the phpMyAdmin configuration storage for using bookmarks feature.

## Storing bookmarks

Any query you have executed can be stored as a bookmark on the page where the results are displayed. You will find a button labeled Bookmark this query just at the end of the page. As soon as you have stored a bookmark, it is related to the database you run the query on. You can now access a bookmark dropdown on each page, the query box appears on for that database.

## Variables inside bookmarks

You can also have, inside the query, placeholders for variables. This is done by inserting into the query SQL comments between `/*` and `*/`. Inside the comments, the special strings `[VARIABLE{variable-number}]` is used. Be aware that the whole query minus the SQL comments must be valid by itself, otherwise you won’t be able to store it as a bookmark. Note also that the text ‘VARIABLE’ is case-sensitive.

When you execute the bookmark, everything typed into the Variables input boxes on the query box page will replace the strings `/*[VARIABLE{variable-number}]*/` in your stored query.

Also remember, that everything else inside the `/*[VARIABLE{variable-number}]*/` string for your query will remain the way it is, but will be stripped of the `/**/` chars. So you can use:

    /*, [VARIABLE1] AS myname */

which will be expanded to

    , VARIABLE1 as myname

in your query, where VARIABLE1 is the string you entered in the Variable 1 input box.

A more complex example. Say you have stored this query:

    SELECT Name, Address FROM addresses WHERE 1 /* AND Name LIKE '%[VARIABLE1]%' */

Say, you now enter “phpMyAdmin” as the variable for the stored query, the full query will be:

    SELECT Name, Address FROM addresses WHERE 1 AND Name LIKE '%phpMyAdmin%'

NOTE THE ABSENCE OF SPACES inside the `/**/` construct. Any spaces inserted there will be later also inserted as spaces in your query and may lead to unexpected results especially when using the variable expansion inside of a “LIKE ‘’” expression.

## Browsing a table using a bookmark

When a bookmark has the same name as the table, it will be used as the query when browsing this table.

See also

6.18 Bookmarks: Where can I store bookmarks? Why can’t I see any bookmarks below the query box? What are these variables for?, 6.22 Bookmarks: Can I execute a default bookmark automatically when entering Browse mode for a table?