Collections, views & indexes

Find the right collection action

Right-click a collection in Explorer, or focus it and press Shift + F10. Common actions stay visible; inspection/configuration and transfer actions live in submenus.

Hover or click a submenu to open it. Keyboard users can press Right to enter and Left to return. Views use a smaller menu with View tools, document export and Drop view….

Create or rename a collection

Right-click a database and choose Create collection. To start a new database, use Create database in Explorer and supply its initial collection; MongoDB materializes the database when that collection is created.

Choose Rename collection… from a collection's menu to rename it within the same database. Palryn does not overwrite an existing destination. After a confirmed rename, related tabs and local settings follow the new name; rerun retained results when prompted. Views and some special collection types cannot use this action.

Read collection statistics

Choose Collection tools → Collection statistics… to inspect the metadata document count, logical data size, allocated storage, reusable space, index storage and per-index sizes. Server/shard information appears where available.

The count belongs to the collection, not your active filter. Logical data and allocated storage measure different things; allocated storage can include reusable space. Use Refresh to request a new reading. Standard views do not have their own collection storage statistics.

Analyze a schema sample

1. Choose Collection tools → Analyze schema…, or View tools → Analyze schema….
2. Choose a sample size between 1 and 5,000 documents; the default is 1,000.
3. Choose Analyze.
4. Search the field list and inspect BSON types, presence, nulls, missing values and array information.

The analysis uses the first returned documents, not a random sample or the current query filter. It reports the number actually sampled and any budget/depth limits. Mixed types and a field missing from the sample are observations, not collection-wide schema guarantees.

Manage indexes

Choose Collection tools → Manage indexes… to list index definitions, sizes and available usage information.

1. Choose Create index.
2. Add the indexed fields in the desired order and choose their index kinds, such as ascending or descending.
3. Configure the relevant options, such as unique, sparse, hidden or TTL, where supported.
4. Review the definition and choose the create action.

Existing indexes offer Edit, Hide/Unhide and Drop when available. Some edits can be applied in place; others require rebuilding the index, which the editor explains before applying. The _id index and server-specific restrictions limit certain actions. Field suggestions are samples rather than an exhaustive schema.

Create and query a standard view

A standard MongoDB view is a saved, read-only pipeline over a collection or another view. To create one from a collection, use Collection tools → Create view…. Enter the view name, source and pipeline. Creation-time collation is available in the definition editor.

[
  { $match: { status: "pending" } },
  { $project: { customerId: 1, total: 1, createdAt: 1 } }
]

Explorer marks views with a View badge. Open one like a collection to query it. Use View tools → Edit view definition… to change its source or pipeline. View results do not offer document writes. The aggregation editor's Save as view… action can also seed a definition from enabled stages.

Drop a collection, database or view

Drop collection and a database's Drop database action remove their data. Review the target and confirmation shown by Palryn. Drop view… removes the view definition, not its source collection.

If MongoDB rejects an operation, the dialog reports it. If an operation's outcome is uncertain, inspect the namespace before attempting it again. See write outcomes for the distinction.