What’s new in Neo4j Desktop — Spring 2020
The Neo4j team has been making a lot of noise recently, announcing some huge 4.0 features including multi-tenancy, and sharding with fabric. But that is not all, there is so much more going on beneath the surface. So I thought I would take some time to put together a list of new features that you may not have spotted in Neo4j Desktop.
First Graph Experience
New users are now greeted by a new database when they first install Neo4j Desktop. Instead of being presented with a blank screen and wondering where to go next, you will now see a sample database containing a graph of Movies and Actors.
Clicking the Browser Guide link for the Sample database will open up the Neo4j Browser with a Browser Guide that will guide you through your first queries on this Neo4j database.
Files
You may have noticed a new Files section in the screenshot above. Here you can drag and drop Cypher snippets or browser guides to be used within your project. For example, if you add a Cypher file, you will be given the option to open up the script in Neo4j Browser. This could be useful for seeding a new database with sample data or creating constraints.
Changes to Graph Apps
The use of Graph Apps in Neo4j Desktop has changed quite a bit since the release of Desktop 1.2.6. Now, you don’t need to add a Graph App to a project. Instead, you launch Graph Apps straight from the Graph Apps sidebar pane. Just click the blue Open icon next to the App to launch it.
The way that Graph Apps are launched has had a huge overhaul. Now, instead of having to add individual Graph Apps to a project, these are now treated as globally available. You can launch any Graph App by clicking the arrow next to the Open button and selecting the app or pressing Ctrl+K or Cmd+K and typing the name of the app.
Graph App Gallery installed with Neo4j Desktop
You may have also noticed the top item in the previous screenshot. The Graph App Gallery is now included with every installation of Neo4j Desktop. All Neo4j Desktop users have access to a number of apps aimed at improving productivity, or visualising the data held in their database.
If you have built a Graph App and would like it featured in the Graph App Gallery, feel free to get in touch and we will be happy to discuss it with you.
Deep-Links to add a new Graph
You can now add your remote instance, Sandbox or Neo4j Aura databases to Neo4j Desktop using a deep-link. This means that you can now share a link to your new project (without the password of course) with you colleagues while chatting over Slack.
neo4j-desktop://remote/add?url=myneo4jinstance&username=neo4j&name=Production
Command Bar
You may have noticed the Magnifying Glass icon in the top right hand corner. Although the Command Bar (similar to macOS’ Spotlight) isn’t strictly a new feature, it has gone under the radar with many users (including myself). Along with the keyboard shortcut (ctrl+k on Windows & Linux or cmd+k on macOS), you can now get quick access by clicking the magnifying glass. From there you can launch Graph Apps, switch between projects or start another Graph.
Activation Keys
A topic close to my heart is Activation Keys. You may already have entered an Activation Key for Neo4j Desktop or Neo4j Bloom but now you can utilise them in your own Graph Apps. Each key is tied to an app by its name in `package.json` and features a scope property.
const context = await neo4jDesktopApi.getContext()const unlockedFeatures = context.activationKeys
.filter(key => key.featureName === "@neo4j/neotel")
.map(key => key.scope)console.log(unlockedFeatures)
These keys are currently issued by Neo4j, but we plan to roll these out so you can issue your own to customers as part of a checkout process. If you are interested in using Activation Keys to unlock features in your app, drop me a message and we will see what we can do.
We’re here to listen
That’s far from a comprehensive list of everything we’ve been up to. If there are any features that you feel are missing feel free to reach out via the Community forum and we will see what we can do.
Happy Developing!
~ Adam
(at neo4j.com)
