Lesson 2 of 4 · 3 min
Components and operators
Assemble a calculation from the query canvas's building blocks.
The same three numbers, combined in a different order, give a different answer — brackets are not decoration.
The query canvas is confirmed as three kinds of block: a Subquery (another query's result, used as an input), a Source Table (a field read directly from underlying data), and a Constant (a fixed number you supply). These sit above the canvas as their own row, with a separate row of operators beneath: + − × ÷ and [ ] brackets. Clear, top right of the canvas, resets it.
Precedence matters here exactly as it does in ordinary arithmetic: multiplication and division bind tighter than addition and subtraction, and brackets override both. (Revenue − COGS) ÷ Revenue and Revenue − COGS ÷ Revenue are not the same calculation, and the second one is a common way to accidentally build the wrong margin.
Adding a block to the canvas works two ways. Clicking a component or operator appends it to the end of whatever's already on the canvas — the fast way to build left-to-right. Dragging it onto the canvas drops it at the exact position you release it, which is how you insert something in the middle of an existing calculation rather than at the end. Both add the same block; the difference is only where it lands.
- 1The canvas
- 2Clear
- 3Components: Subquery, Source Table, Constant
- 4Operators: + − × ÷ [ ]
ValueWorks 2026.08
Takeaways
Three block types: Subquery, Source Table, Constant.
Click appends a block to the end; drag drops it exactly where you release it — the way to insert into the middle of an existing calculation.
Standard precedence applies — × ÷ bind before + −, and [ ] overrides both.
A missing or misplaced bracket produces a number that runs without error and is simply wrong.
Surfaces covered
- Query canvas
- Clear
- Subquery
- Source Table
- Constant
- + − × ÷ and [ ] brackets
- Precedence
Micro-check
Two quick questions
Practice only — nothing here is scored or recorded.
1. You want gross margin: (Revenue − COGS) ÷ Revenue. Without brackets, what does Revenue − COGS ÷ Revenue actually calculate?
2. You want to reuse another query's output as an input to a new calculation. Which block do you use?
3. You've already built most of a calculation and need to insert a bracket in the middle of it, not at the end. What do you do?