How can I directly view blobs in MySQL Workbench

Question

I\'m using MySQL Workbench CE 5.2.30 CE / Rev 6790 . When execute the following statement:

SELECT OLD_PASSWORD(\"test\")

I only get back a nice

Answer 1

NOTE: The previous answers here aren't particularly useful if the BLOB is an arbitrary sequence of bytes; e.g. BINARY(16) to store 128-bit GUID or md5 checksum.

In that case, there currently is no editor preference -- though I have submitted a feature request now -- see that request for more detailed explanation.

[Until/unless that feature request is implemented], the solution is HEX function in a query: SELECT HEX(mybinarycolumn) FROM mytable.

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An alternative is to use phpMyAdmin instead of MySQL Workbench - there hex is shown by default.

Answer 2

there is few things that you can do

SELECT GROUP_CONCAT(CAST(name AS CHAR))
FROM product
WHERE  id   IN (12345,12346,12347)

If you want to order by the query you can order by cast as well like below

SELECT GROUP_CONCAT(name ORDER BY name))
FROM product
WHERE id   IN (12345,12346,12347)

as it says on this blog

http://www.kdecom.com/mysql-group-concat-blob-bug-solved/

Answer 3

Perform three steps:

1. Go to "WorkBench Preferences" --> Choose "SQL Editor" Under "Query Results": check "Treat BINARY/VARBINARY as nonbinary character string"

2. Restart MySQL WorkBench.

3. Now select SELECT SUBSTRING(BLOB<COLUMN_NAME>,1,2500) FROM <Table_name>;

Answer 4

SELECT *, CONVERT( UNCOMPRESS(column) USING "utf8" ) AS column FROM table_name

Answer 5

casting works, but it is a pain, so I would recommend using spioter's method unless you are using a lot of truly blob data.

SELECT CAST(OLD_PASSWORD("test") AS CHAR)

You can also cast as other types, and even restrict the size, but most of the time I just use CHAR: http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.5/en/cast-functions.html#function_cast

Answer 6

Work bench 6.3
Follow High scoring answer then use UNCOMPRESS()

(In short:
1. Go to Edit > Preferences
2. Choose SQL Editor
3. Under SQL Execution, check Treat BINARY/VARBINARY as nonbinary character string
4. Restart MySQL Workbench (you will not be prompted or informed of this requirement).)

Then

SELECT SUBSTRING(UNCOMPRESS(<COLUMN_NAME>),1,2500) FROM <Table_name>;

or

SELECT CAST(UNCOMPRESS(<COLUMN_NAME>) AS CHAR) FROM <Table_name>;

If you just put UNCOMPRESS(<COLUMN_NAME>) you can right click blob and click "Open Value in Editor".