Hierarchical completions
BigQuery names things in four levels — project.dataset.table.column. Type a dot after any level and the list shows only the next one, so you can walk down to a table without knowing its name in advance.
SELECT * FROM `bigquery-public-data. Walking the hierarchy
Each dot shows one level. Accepting an item that needs a dot after it (a project, a dataset) inserts the dot and opens the next list on its own — no CtrlSpace, and independent of the Chain completions setting.
| You type | The list shows | Icon |
|---|---|---|
FROM ace-analytics. | Datasets in the project | Dataset |
FROM ace-analytics.warehouse. | Tables in the dataset | Table |
FROM ace-analytics.warehouse.users. | Columns of the table | Column |
SELECT geo. (a STRUCT column) | Fields of the STRUCT | Field |
Project names in the list carry a folder icon. The same icons mark each kind in every other completion list.
SELECT * FROM `ace-analytics.warehouse. No dot yet
Before any dot, FROM ¦ lists every table you have access to as a full path. Filtering matches any part of it, so users finds ace-analytics.warehouse.users and warehouse_dev finds the dev copy of the dataset.
SELECT * FROM This is the quickest way to switch between _dev, _test, and production datasets: type the table name, pick the variant.
STRUCTs
The same rule holds inside a row. data. shows the STRUCT’s immediate fields; data.user. shows the next level, and so on down. Without a dot, column lists include nested fields two levels deep (device.category, geo.country).
SELECT device.
FROM `ace-analytics.warehouse.events` One name, two meanings
FROM analytics. could be a project (next: datasets) or a dataset in your default project (next: tables). Querylab.io shows both, tables of the dataset first:
SELECT * FROM analytics. region-us. is handled the same way and adds INFORMATION_SCHEMA for region-scoped views.
Backticks and dashes
Dashes in project IDs don’t need backticks — FROM ace-analytics. and FROM `ace-analytics`. both open the dataset list. Inside a backtick pair the whole path completes without adding more quotes. Names with spaces or other special characters need backticks around each part: `my project`.`my dataset`.
Whether accepted names get backticks is the Identifier Formatting setting — always, or only when the name needs them. See auto-completions.
BigFunctions
BigFunctions are community UDFs deployed per region. With Enable BigFunctions on (Settings → Editor → SQL Editor → Completions; off by default) the bigfunctions namespace joins the function lists and navigates by dot:
SELECT bigfunctions.us. FROM `ace-analytics.warehouse.reviews` bigfunctions. lists the regions (us, eu, us_central1, europe_west1, asia_east1, asia_northeast1, asia_southeast1); bigfunctions.us. lists the functions with their documentation. The namespace never appears after FROM — it’s for expressions, not tables.