In relational databases, accessing data in the database resources (tables or views) is done through the agency of the Structured Query Language (SQL); this language provides instructions for searching, updating, adding and deleting records (rows) in the database tables, following selection criteria encoded in SQL statements.

The structured version of the Retrieval component is based on the graphical interface that hides the specifics of the SQL query formatted internally by the component. It presents the Retrieval as a collection of various graphical elements that control various aspects of the database retrieval, without forcing the user to learn the syntax of SQL.

Structured Retrieval provides graphical means for performing the most common types of SQL queries, including setting of the search criteria, sorting order, grouping, field aggregation and joining of the tables.

However, experienced database programmers can use complex SQL constructs that, while being highly efficient in delivering data from the database in the shortest possible time, do not always lend themselves to the restrictive format of graphical controls. To address the needs of these users, Scribe offers a Direct SQL form of the Retrieval component that allows the user to specify an arbitrarily complex SQL statement and "package" it into a graphical container that can then be incorporated into the procedure's flowchart.