Managing Azure Storage Account Tables directly in the Azure Portal has a common limitation: the portal allows you to create tables but doesn’t provide an interface to view or query the actual table data. This can slow down development and debugging workflows when you need quick visibility into stored data.
In this article, I will walk through how to easily access and manage Azure Storage Tables using Microsoft Azure Storage Explorer, a free, cross-platform desktop tool designed to provide comprehensive storage management capabilities.
Why Use Azure Storage Explorer?
Azure Storage Explorer offers:
Graphical browsing of Table, Blob, Queue, and File storage data
Authentication through Azure Active Directory or SAS tokens
Support for querying and filtering table data efficiently
Seamless integration with your Azure subscriptions and resource groups
Step-by-Step Guide to Access Table Data
Download and Install
Visit Microsoft’s official site and download the latest version of Azure Storage Explorer compatible with Windows, macOS, or Linux.
Authenticate
Launch the app and sign in using your Azure Active Directory account, or connect with a Shared Access Signature (SAS) or a connection string if preferred.
Navigate to Your Storage Account
After authentication, locate your Azure subscription and expand the relevant storage account. Under the storage account, select Tables.
Browse and Query Table Data
Select your table to view all entities (rows). You can filter, sort, and query table data directly within the app, providing much-needed visibility not available in the portal.
Benefits for Developers and Cloud Engineers
Using Azure Storage Explorer:
Eliminates the need to write custom scripts just to inspect or validate table data
Accelerates debugging and development cycles
Provides a user-friendly way to verify data governance and storage operations
Conclusion
While the Azure Portal currently lacks direct support for viewing table data, Microsoft Azure Storage Explorer fills this gap perfectly. It’s a vital tool to add to any cloud engineer or developer’s toolkit for efficient Azure Storage management.
Have you integrated Azure Storage Explorer into your workflow? Share your experiences or tips in the comments!
Top comments (0)