# Safe Mode

The *Safe Mode* option in Astera allows you to study and debug your dataflows in cases when access to source files or databases is not available. You can open a dataflow/subflow and then proceed to debug or understand it after activating *Safe Mode*.

In this article, we will be looking at how you can activate and use the *Safe Mode* option in Astera.

## **Activating Safe Mode**

To activate *Safe Mode*, press the *Safe Mode* icon placed in the toolbar at the top of the dataflow designer.

![](https://750977703-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FqHxyVNGb7tSdIWecl6Ru%2Fuploads%2FjgTJRJ4s2hKg6YqgREEf%2F0.png?alt=media)

Once *Safe Mode* is activated, the icon will have an outlining box around it.

![](https://750977703-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FqHxyVNGb7tSdIWecl6Ru%2Fuploads%2FWJqIozE7q14Hn8A4d46R%2F1.png?alt=media)

## **Use Case**

Here, we have a sample dataflow that was created by another user.

![](https://750977703-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FqHxyVNGb7tSdIWecl6Ru%2Fuploads%2FYYZLmltO3eMV55UWu9NG%2F2.png?alt=media)

This dataflow contains a *Database Table Source*, as assigned by the previous user. In this use case, we will be using the *Safe Mode* option to access the properties of the *Database Table Source* object named *Invoices*, in order to understand the layout of the data and other conditions.

## **When Safe Mode is Inactive**

As the dataflow is not our own, we do not have access to the source database tables and cannot see the data’s layout ourselves.

To access the *Properties* for the *Database Table Source* object, right-click on its header and select *Properties* from the context menu.

![](https://750977703-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FqHxyVNGb7tSdIWecl6Ru%2Fuploads%2FGKV1luqAyL271EN71but%2F3.png?alt=media)

Click *Next* on the bottom of the *Database Connection* screen of the configuration window to access the *Pick Source Table and Reading Option* section.

![](https://750977703-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FqHxyVNGb7tSdIWecl6Ru%2Fuploads%2F0qXCZasyZYtznNefHdaj%2F4.png?alt=media)

When trying to access the *Pick Source Table and Reading Option* and further sections, we come across an error and it does not let us proceed, bringing us to a halt in the process.

![](https://750977703-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FqHxyVNGb7tSdIWecl6Ru%2Fuploads%2FMsKEJBw7zSIwysBXO9fR%2F5.png?alt=media)

This error is expected as we do not have access to the source database being used.

Press *OK* and then *Cancel* to exit the configuration window.

## **When Safe Mode is Active**

In order to proceed, we will now activate *Safe Mode*.

1. Once *Safe Mode* is activated, proceed to access the *Properties* and then the *Pick Source Table and Reading Option* section of the configuration window for the *Database Table Source* object.

![](https://750977703-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FqHxyVNGb7tSdIWecl6Ru%2Fuploads%2FxGsPp2sqeixo3Xp1OClx%2F6.png?alt=media)

2. This time, with *Safe Mode* activated, Astera allows us to proceed to the *Pick Source Table and Reading Option* screen. Here, we can see all the options utilized by the previous user to read a specific database table.

![](https://750977703-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FqHxyVNGb7tSdIWecl6Ru%2Fuploads%2FTUUMEmKkeAvCavSG38Ua%2F7.png?alt=media)

3. Press *Next* again on the *Pick Source Table and Reading Option* screen to proceed to the *Layout Builder* screen, which shows the fields, their data types, and other properties.

![](https://750977703-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FqHxyVNGb7tSdIWecl6Ru%2Fuploads%2F8MV91T14jBwgct0BLQH1%2F8.png?alt=media)

4. Press *Next* on this section to proceed to the *Where Clause* screen in order to understand the clause used, if any, by the previous user.

![](https://750977703-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FqHxyVNGb7tSdIWecl6Ru%2Fuploads%2FU0vOYGlbb6Z6vmg563F1%2F9.png?alt=media)

Here, we can see that a where clause has been used to identify records that specifically cater to the *Country* field being ‘France’.

5. Press *Next* to proceed to the *Config Parameters* screen to see if any parameters have been set.

![](https://750977703-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FqHxyVNGb7tSdIWecl6Ru%2Fuploads%2FdN0uUMGnmG5HBgDiI6Z2%2F10.png?alt=media)

6. Lastly, press *OK* to close the properties window for the *Database Table Source* object.

To learn more about the *Database Table Source* object, click [here](https://documentation.astera.com/v/astera-data-stack-v8/dataflows/sources/database-table-source).

You can now configure the object as required and/or load your own database tables.

*Safe Mode* can be used to access properties for any object that has been configured with source files/tables/queries etc. that a user does not have access to, thus facilitating debugging and dataflow sharing.

This concludes our discussion on the *Safe Mode* option.


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