Visual Studio Hacks

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Chapter 9, Server Explorer Hacks

#74 Diagram and Modify a Database

HACK

Using this interface, you can configure the tables, add relationships or keys,

add or edit columns, and more.

Tables

Using the Server Explorer interface, you can work directly with the tables in

your database. By clicking on the Tables node in the Server Explorer, you

will see a list of all the tables in your database, as shown in Figure 9-9.

Use this list to perform various table functions. If you right-click on a table

and click on Retrieve Data from Table, you will see a portion of the data

from your table in an easy-to-view format, as seen in Figure 9-10.

You can also edit a table by right-clicking on it and choosing Design Table

from the context menu. You will then see the window shown in Figure 9-11.

From the table design window, you can change and configure any of the

table settings that you can change directly through Enterprise Manager. In

fact, you have probably noticed that the interface is pretty much identical to

the interface in Enterprise Manager. You can also create triggers for your

tables by right-clicking on a table and choosing New Trigger.

Views

Using the Server Explorer, you can create and edit views much like working

with tables. The Views node shows a list of all of the views in your database.

Figure 9-8. Database Diagrams interface