Programmabilities Blog

2007-06-20

Server 2000: Query Analyzer Tips & Tricks

You probably know that SQL Server stores metadata about all of the objects in a database. The system tables contain a wealth of information about column names, data types, identity seeds, and so on. But did you know that you can get that information with a single keystroke via Query Analyzer? Highlight the object name in any SQL statement and press Alt+F1. Figure 1 shows the results for a SQL Server table. If you don't have anything highlighted, Alt+F1 will give you information about the database itself. For an equally neat trick, highlight a SQL keyword and press Shift+F1; you'll go straight to the Books Online page that describes that keyword.

Labels: sql