You can run Visual Explain to explain an SQL statement directly. To explain (display) an SQL statement directly:
Note: If you choose Explain from the Visual Explain menu, the system only displays your query diagram without actually running it. Information about eh query will represent the query optimizer's estimate and not actual data. If you choose Run and Explain from the Visual Explain menu, your query is run by the system before it is displayed. The results of the query (if any) are displayed in the Run SQL Scripts window. Running and displaying your query could take a significant amount of time, but the information displayed will be more complete and accurate.