How to Create Tables Using Microsoft SQL Server Express

Microsoft SQL Server Express is a light version of Microsoft SQL Server and is used in environments where the full version of SQL Server does not make fiscal sense, as well as for distributed applications. SQL Server Express is provided by Microsoft free of charge as a download from the Microsoft website. Tables are the portion of SQL Server Express that contain all the data that a user wishes to capture and store. Users of SQL Server Express can add, remove or modify tables through SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) or SQL Server Management Studio Express (SSMSE).

Instructions

1. Design your table on paper so that you know exactly what you need to be stored in your table and what types of fields you will need to create.

2. Open SQL Server Management Studio and connect to your instance of SQL Server Express.

3. In the Object Explorer window, click on the "+" next to your named instance to expand the instance and show the folders.

4. Expand the "Databases" folder to show all the databases in your instance.

5. Expand the database you wish to work with by clicking on the "+" next to the database name.

6. Expand the "Tables" folder to show the existing tables in your database.

7. Right-click on the "Tables" folder and click on "New Table..." in the menu that pops up. This will open a window so you can begin to create the fields for your table.

8. In the "Column Name" field, provide the name for your first column.

9. In the "Data Type" column, provide the data type you wish to use for storing data in that column.

10. In the "Allow Nulls" column, click in the box if you wish to allow a null value in the column.

11. Continue with steps eight through 10 until you have all of the fields you wish to add to your table.

12. Right-click on the tab for the table you are creating and click on "Save Table_1."

13. Enter a table name for your new table and click "OK." You now have a new SQL Server Express table.

Tips & Warnings

• Carefully consider the design phase of your database to create the proper tables and fields within each table, as well as their relationship to one another. There are many field types to choose from; field length for each field should also be a consideration, as it will determine the length of each record. Remember that the length of each record is determined by all of your created field lengths, regardless of how much data is in each field. So if you have a "char" field and have its length set to 30, it will be stored as a length of 30 even if you enter data that is only five characters in length.

Resources

• Microsoft