While basic mode is an excellent choice for creating charts without needing to know how to write queries, working in advanced (NRQL) mode offers more power and additional features.
Any data specified in basic mode can be written as an NRQL query in advanced (NRQL) mode.
To see what your basic mode data specification looks like as an NRQL query, click the Advanced (NRQL) 
link from the basic page.
Compare advanced (NRQL) mode query with basic mode specification
When you switch from basic mode to advanced (NRQL) mode, the query you see produces the exact same chart as the basic data specification.
If your query was started using basic mode and if you make changes to that query using advanced (NRQL) mode, you cannot return to basic mode to edit that query.
Any additional changes may only be made in advanced (NRQL) mode.
Use this table to understand how basic mode specifications correspond to the equivalent NRQL query.
| To set this | In basic mode, you enter … | In advanced (NRQL) mode, you write … |
|---|---|---|
| The event type, attribute, and function on that attribute | View a chart with Transaction : Name : unique_count |
SELECT uniqueCount(name) FROM Transaction |
| Narrowing your results to show only those transactions with a 404 page not found error | Narrow results to httpResponseCode='404' |
WHERE httpResponseCode = '404' |
| Enable a preliminary timeline view | not needed in basic mode | TIMESERIES — enables line chart type (required for initial chart view) |
| To see a separate value for each application with a 404 error | Facet by appName |
FACET `appName` |
| To view the five applications with the most 404 errors |
Limit |
LIMIT 5 |
| To view errors over the last three hours | Select Last 3 hrs — converted to seconds in NRQL query |
SINCE 10800 seconds ago |
| To enhance the results of sampling transaction data | This feature is run automatically in basic mode | EXTRAPOLATE |
Notes about advanced (NRQL) mode
Queries written directly in NRQL can be more complex than queries written in basic mode. The NRQL documentation contains both reference information and query examples. This table identifies some items to keep in mind.
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Prompts | For each statement or function in your query, you can view a list of valid options, with tooltips.
 |
| Events | You can use multiple event types in an NRQL query. |
| Attributes | You can use multiple attributes per event type in an NRQL query. |
| View previous queries | Once you run an NRQL query, use the My recent queries dropdown to view up the last 1,000 queries that you ran. The dropdown has a search box to help you find your query. |
| Working with basic mode and NRQL | If you start creating a chart using basic mode and then switch to advanced (NRQL), be aware that if you make any changes to the NRQL query, you will lose those changes in basic mode. |
| Autocompleter |
The chart builder’s autocompleter will display events and attributes reported within the last 60 minutes. An example of this is a process that runs once a day, such as a standard system health check that kicks off every morning at 6:00 AM. If you attempt to query the event at 7:05 AM, the event and subsequent attributes will not be visible in the autocomplete dropdown. These events and attributes are still queryable by typing the exact string. |
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