Navicat ER Diagram Tutorial

Navicat ER diagram options by product and edition

Example schema to diagram

To follow along, run this in a MySQL query window in Navicat (or any client). It creates four tables with three foreign keys, enough to show one-to-many and many-to-many relationships.

CREATE TABLE customers (
    customer_id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
    full_name   VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
    email       VARCHAR(255) UNIQUE
);

CREATE TABLE products (
    product_id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
    name       VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
    price      DECIMAL(10,2) NOT NULL
);

CREATE TABLE orders (
    order_id    INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
    customer_id INT NOT NULL,
    ordered_at  DATETIME NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
    FOREIGN KEY (customer_id) REFERENCES customers (customer_id)
);

CREATE TABLE order_items (
    order_id   INT NOT NULL,
    product_id INT NOT NULL,
    quantity   INT NOT NULL CHECK (quantity > 0),
    PRIMARY KEY (order_id, product_id),
    FOREIGN KEY (order_id) REFERENCES orders (order_id),
    FOREIGN KEY (product_id) REFERENCES products (product_id)
);

Generate a Navicat ER diagram from an existing database

1. In the Navigation pane, double-click the connection and then the database (or schema) to open it.
2. In the Objects tab, click the ER Diagram button (next to List and Detail).
3. Navicat generates the diagram automatically if the database contains tables. Only tables are shown, with their fields and relationship lines.

On the diagram you can add a relationship by clicking the add-relation button on the bottom toolbar (or pressing R) and dragging a field from the child table to the parent table; this creates a real foreign key. Right-click a relation line and choose Design Foreign Key or Delete Foreign Key to change it. Double-clicking a table opens the Table Designer.

The bottom toolbar also has Refresh, Regenerate ER Diagram (re-runs auto layout), colouring, automatic arrangement and an export to PNG. Use the Overview slider or Ctrl with the mouse wheel to zoom. Diagram files are stored under the connection's Settings Location.

Reverse engineer the database into a model (Enterprise)

The ER Diagram view is a live picture of the database. When you want a diagram to design, document or share, use Model, which the manual marks as available only in Enterprise Edition:

1. Right-click the open database and select Reverse Database to Model. (Alternatively, in the Workspace window choose Tools > Reverse Engineering > Reverse Database to Model.)
2. Select the source connection, database and schema, and the target model. Choose New Model and the model type if you are starting fresh.
3. Click Next and select the objects to import.
4. Enable Import To Diagram and choose New Diagram.
5. Click Start.

In the diagram properties, Diagram Notation switches between Crow's Foot, IDEF1X and UML, and options such as showing NOT NULL or field comments control the detail. Auto Layout rearranges the objects so they do not overlap.

Edit tables directly on the canvas

The manual's hints describe a quick way to add fields without opening a designer: click a table name on the canvas and press Tab or the down arrow to add fields. Typing * before a name makes it a primary key (for example *itemNo), and a colon sets the type (for example itemName:varchar(255)). Without a type, Navicat predicts one from the name, such as an integer for names ending in id and a decimal for names ending in price.

Export the diagram or turn it back into SQL

• Image or PDF: in the diagram, choose File > Export To and pick PDF, PNG, SVG or JPG. File > Print prints it.
• SQL script: in the Workspace window choose Tools > Forward Engineering > Export Model to SQL/Script File, select the objects and the server version, and choose options such as including foreign keys or DROP statements.
• Apply to a database: Tools > Forward Engineering > Synchronize Model to Database compares the model with a target database, shows the differences and the deployment script, and runs it when you click Start.

Review the deployment script before running it against anything that matters: objects that exist only in the target are marked for deletion. If Navicat is out of budget, see our best ER diagram tools for free options.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Navicat 18 manual: Main UI (ER Diagram view)
• Navicat 18 manual: About Model
• Navicat 18 manual: Reverse Database to Model
• Navicat 18 manual: Create Diagram
• Navicat 18 manual: Apply Auto Layout
• Navicat 18 manual: Print & Export Diagram
• Navicat 18 manual: Export Model to SQL/Script File
• Navicat 18 manual: Synchronize Model to Database
• Navicat 18 manual: Model Hints and Tips
• Navicat 18 manual: Hot Keys
• Navicat products overview (Data Modeler and Data Modeler Lite)
• Navicat Data Modeler product page

Checked 8 October 2026.

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