This page refers to the
case_sensitive
parameter that is part of an Explore.
case_sensitive
can also be used as part of a model, described on thecase_sensitive
(for models) parameter documentation page.
case_sensitive
can also be used as part of a dimension, described on thecase_sensitive
(for fields) parameter documentation page.
Usage
explore: explore_name { case_sensitive: yes }
Hierarchy
case_sensitive |
Default Value
yes , if the database dialect supports the parameter
Accepts
A Boolean (yes or no )
|
Definition
case_sensitive
determines whether or not filters will be treated as case-sensitive on a given Explore. All filters related to the Explore are affected, including those added in the Explore UI, Dashboard UI, and filters
parameter.
By default, case_sensitivity
is on and filters are case-sensitive. However, some dialects do not support this parameter, as described in the case_sensitive
is not supported by some SQL dialects section on this page.
case_sensitive
works by adjusting the WHERE
clause of the SQL that Looker generates. When case_sensitive
is on, filters are expressed with =
or LIKE
, such as:
WHERE name = 'bob'
WHERE name LIKE '%bob%'
When case_sensitive
is off, filters are expressed with ILIKE
(or equivalent), such as:
WHERE name ILIKE 'bob'
Examples
Make all filters case-sensitive for the Product Explore:
explore: product {
case_sensitive: yes
}
Make all filters not case-sensitive for the Customer Explore:
explore: customer {
case_sensitive: no
}
Common challenges
case_sensitive
is not supported by some SQL dialects
By default, case_sensitivity
is on and filters are case-sensitive. If your SQL dialect doesn't support the case_sensitive
parameter, case-sensitivity will vary according to your database setup, which will usually not be case-sensitive.
For Looker to support case_sensitive
in your Looker project, your database dialect must also support it. The following table shows which dialects support case_sensitive
in the latest release of Looker:
Dialect | Supported? |
---|---|
Actian Avalanche | Yes |
Amazon Athena | Yes |
Amazon Aurora MySQL | No |
Amazon Redshift | Yes |
Apache Druid | Yes |
Apache Druid 0.13+ | Yes |
Apache Druid 0.18+ | Yes |
Apache Hive 2.3+ | Yes |
Apache Hive 3.1.2+ | Yes |
Apache Spark 3+ | Yes |
ClickHouse | Yes |
Cloudera Impala 3.1+ | Yes |
Cloudera Impala 3.1+ with Native Driver | Yes |
Cloudera Impala with Native Driver | Yes |
DataVirtuality | Yes |
Databricks | Yes |
Denodo 7 | Yes |
Denodo 8 | Yes |
Dremio | Yes |
Dremio 11+ | Yes |
Exasol | Yes |
Firebolt | Yes |
Google BigQuery Legacy SQL | Yes |
Google BigQuery Standard SQL | Yes |
Google Cloud PostgreSQL | Yes |
Google Cloud SQL | No |
Google Spanner | Yes |
Greenplum | Yes |
HyperSQL | No |
IBM Netezza | Yes |
MariaDB | No |
Microsoft Azure PostgreSQL | Yes |
Microsoft Azure SQL Database | No |
Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics | No |
Microsoft SQL Server 2008+ | No |
Microsoft SQL Server 2012+ | No |
Microsoft SQL Server 2016 | No |
Microsoft SQL Server 2017+ | No |
MongoBI | Yes |
MySQL | No |
MySQL 8.0.12+ | No |
Oracle | Yes |
Oracle ADWC | Yes |
PostgreSQL 9.5+ | Yes |
PostgreSQL pre-9.5 | Yes |
PrestoDB | Yes |
PrestoSQL | Yes |
SAP HANA 2+ | Yes |
SingleStore | No |
SingleStore 7+ | No |
Snowflake | Yes |
Teradata | Yes |
Trino | Yes |
Vector | Yes |
Vertica | Yes |
Things to know
You can create a case-sensitive search in MySQL
It is possible to create a case-sensitive search in MySQL, even though MySQL does not support the case_sensitive
parameter. In MySQL, certain data types — called binary strings — store text as a series of numbers. The capitalization of the text makes a difference in the numbers that are used. Therefore, if you convert your text to a binary string, you can make searches that are case-sensitive. For example:
dimension: will_NOT_be_case_sensitive {
sql: ${TABLE}.something ;;
}
dimension: will_be_case_sensitive {
sql: CAST(${TABLE}.something AS BINARY) ;;
}