Defining Tables

Summary

So, now you know how to create a table. This chapter has covered several options for doing so, but there is one point that you should keep in mind when building a table, whether you are creating or modifying it. When creating a table in SQL Server Management Studio, you should always save the table first by clicking the Save toolbar button. If you have made a mistake when defining the table and you close the table, and in doing so save in one action, you will get an error message informing you that an error has occurred, and all your changes will be lost. You will then have to go back in to the Table Designer and reapply any changes made.

Try also to get used to using both SQL Server Management Studio and the Query pane, as you may find that the Query pane gives you a more comfortable feel to the way you want to work. Also, you will find that in the Query pane, you can save your work to a file on your hard drive as you go along. You can also do this within SQL Server Management Studio; however, the changes are saved to a text file as a set of SQL commands, which then need to be run through the Query pane anyway.