Google has rolled out a new autosave functionality for BigQuery saved queries, enhancing the workflow efficiency for database analysts and developers. This new feature, currently in Preview, automatically preserves changes to query text without requiring manual saves.
How the Autosave Feature Works
The new autosave capability in BigQuery provides several key benefits:
- Changes to a saved query's text are automatically saved two seconds after typing stops
- Autosaved modifications appear in the Version history section labeled as "Your changes"
- These autosaved changes do not constitute a new version of the query
- The autosaved content reappears whenever you reopen the query
Importantly, these automatic saves remain private to the individual user until explicitly saved as a new version. This means collaborators won't see the changes until the query owner formally saves them.
Saving Queries as New Versions
To create an official new version of a modified query that will be visible to other users, BigQuery maintains the traditional saving process:
- Navigate to the BigQuery page in the Google Cloud console
- In the Explorer pane, expand your project and the Queries folder
- If necessary, expand the Shared queries folder and click on a saved query
- Make desired modifications to the query
- Click Save query > Save query or use the keyboard shortcut Control+S (Command+S on macOS)
Once these steps are completed, a new version of the query is officially created and becomes visible to collaborators with appropriate permissions.
This enhancement balances individual productivity with team collaboration by preserving work-in-progress while maintaining control over when changes become visible to others.
