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Title
Different methods to search SQL Server data -
Description
ApexSQL Search is a SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) and Visual Studio add-in used to search SQL Server data. It can search the text for data stored in tables and views; also the text within database objects (including object names) can be searched.
To start searching data in SSMS or Visual Studio main menu, click the ApexSQL Search and, from the list, choose the Text search command:
The same option is available trough ApexSQL Search toolbar:
Or from the Object Explorer pane, select a database to search data from, right-click and, from the context menu, choose the Text search command:
Once the command is clicked, the Text search pane will appear:
In the Search text box, enter a search phrase to find data that maches it. From the Server drop-down box, choose the server that hosts the database against which the search data needs to be performed, and from the Database drop-down list, choose the database:
Under the Select objects to search, list chooses the tables or views to search in. In our example, all objects in the list will be selected:
Additionally, specify types of columns the search should be performed against, by selecting corresponding check-boxes: numeric, text type, unique identifier, or date columns:
Once all is set, click the Find button. In the Text search, result grid will be populated with objects that contain the search string specified in the Search text box:
As illustrated, the search string in the chosen database appears about 18000 times, which is a lot. Let’s narrow down search results by filtering data from the search results list. Click on the filter icon which is located under the headers of the search results columns and, from there, choose the additional filter option:
By clicking on the ellipsis button next to the Columns values column, the object details can be seen:
All results from the search results list can be saved/exported in one of the available formats like XML, CSV, HTML:
Conclusion
Using a reliable and easy method to search SQL Server data can be a way to reduce required time and stress from these types of tasks thus increasing overall productivity on a daily basis
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Resolution
ApexSQL Search is a SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) and Visual Studio add-in used to search SQL Server data. It can search the text for data stored in tables and views; also the text within database objects (including object names) can be searched.
To start searching data in SSMS or Visual Studio main menu, click the ApexSQL Search and, from the list, choose the Text search command:
The same option is available trough ApexSQL Search toolbar:
Or from the Object Explorer pane, select a database to search data from, right-click and, from the context menu, choose the Text search command:
Once the command is clicked, the Text search pane will appear:
In the Search text box, enter a search phrase to find data that maches it. From the Server drop-down box, choose the server that hosts the database against which the search data needs to be performed, and from the Database drop-down list, choose the database:
Under the Select objects to search, list chooses the tables or views to search in. In our example, all objects in the list will be selected:
Additionally, specify types of columns the search should be performed against, by selecting corresponding check-boxes: numeric, text type, unique identifier, or date columns:
Once all is set, click the Find button. In the Text search, result grid will be populated with objects that contain the search string specified in the Search text box:
As illustrated, the search string in the chosen database appears about 18000 times, which is a lot. Let’s narrow down search results by filtering data from the search results list. Click on the filter icon which is located under the headers of the search results columns and, from there, choose the additional filter option:
By clicking on the ellipsis button next to the Columns values column, the object details can be seen:
All results from the search results list can be saved/exported in one of the available formats like XML, CSV, HTML:
Conclusion
Using a reliable and easy method to search SQL Server data can be a way to reduce required time and stress from these types of tasks thus increasing overall productivity on a daily basis