> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.pentaho.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.pentaho.com/pdia-data-integration/9.3-data-integration/pdi-transformation-steps-reference-overview/table-input/options.md).

# Options

The Table Input step has the following options:

| Option                             | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
| ---------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **SQL**                            | Specify a SQL statement to read information from the connected database. You can also click the **Get SQL select statement** button to browse tables and automatically generate a basic select statement.                          |
| **Store column info in step meta** | Select this option to use the cached metadata stored in the KTR without making a database connection to query the table. **Note:** If you are using Spark as your processing engine, select this option. (Required)                |
| **Enable lazy conversion**         | Select this option to enable the lazy conversion algorithm. When selected, lazy conversion avoids unnecessary data type conversions when possible, which can significantly improve performance.                                    |
| **Replace variables in script?**   | Select this option to replace variables in the script. This feature provides testing capabilities with or without variable substitutions.                                                                                          |
| **Insert data from step**          | Specify the input step name where PDI can expect information to come from. This information can then be inserted into the SQL statement. The locator where PDI inserts information is indicated with a question mark: `?`.         |
| **Execute for each row?**          | Select this option to execute the query for each individual row.                                                                                                                                                                   |
| **Limit size**                     | Specify the number of lines to read from the database. A value of zero (`0`) indicates to read all lines.                                                                                                                          |
| **Preview** (button)               | Click **Preview** to open a new window and view an execution log derived from a temporary transformation with two steps: the Table Input step and the Dummy step. To see the log, click **Logs** in the Preview window that opens. |


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