> 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/pdi-transformation-steps-reference-overview/table-input.md).

# Table Input

The **Table Input** step reads information from a connected database using SQL statements. Basic SQL statements can be generated automatically by selecting **Get SQL select statement**.

### General

| Field          | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| -------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Step name**  | Specify the unique name of the Table Input step on the canvas. You can customize the name or leave it as the default.                                                                                                  |
| **Connection** | <p>Select the database connection to use.</p><p>If you do not have an existing connection, select <strong>New</strong> or <strong>Wizard</strong>. To modify an existing connection, select <strong>Edit</strong>.</p> |

### Options

| Option                             | Description                                                                                                                                                      |
| ---------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **SQL**                            | SQL statement used to read data from the connected database. You can select **Get SQL select statement** to browse tables and generate a basic SELECT statement. |
| **Store column info in step meta** | Select to use cached metadata stored in the KTR instead of querying the database for table metadata.                                                             |
| **Enable lazy conversion**         | Select to avoid unnecessary data type conversions when possible (can improve performance).                                                                       |
| **Replace variables in script?**   | Select to replace variables in the SQL script. This is useful for testing with or without substitutions.                                                         |
| **Insert data from step**          | Specify the input step that provides parameter values. PDI inserts values at `?` markers in the SQL statement.                                                   |
| **Execute for each row?**          | Select to execute the query for each incoming row.                                                                                                               |
| **Limit size**                     | Number of rows to read. `0` means read all rows.                                                                                                                 |
| **Preview** (button)               | Opens a Preview window and shows a temporary execution log.                                                                                                      |

### Example

```sql
SELECT * FROM customers WHERE changed_date BETWEEN ? AND ?
```

This SQL statement requests two dates that are read from the **Insert data from step** input. You can provide the date range using the [Get System Info](/pdia-data-integration/pdi-transformation-steps-reference-overview/get-system-info.md) step.

### Metadata injection support

You can use [ETL metadata injection](/pdia-data-integration/pdi-transformation-steps-reference-overview/etl-metadata-injection.md) to pass metadata at runtime.

The following fields of the Table Input step support metadata injection:

* **SQL**
* **Limit size**
* **Execute for each row**
* **Replace variables in script**
* **Enable lazy conversion**
* **Cached row meta**
* **Connection**


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