A foreign key constraint (also called a referential integrity constraint) designates a column as the foreign key and establishes a relationship between that foreign key and a specified primary or unique key, called the referenced key. The same table or view can contain a foreign key and a referenced key.
You can define multiple foreign keys in a table or view. Also, a single column can be part of more than one foreign key.
The following restrictions are actual for foreign constraints:
1. Open the table you need and choose New Foreign Key on the Table menu.
2. Add required columns, select referenced table and referenced constraint, and click OK.
-or-
1. Switch to the Constraints tab.
2. Create a constraint on the shortcut menu.
Note
Note, to create a foreign key, the referenced table should have a unique index, otherwise dbForge Studio will prompt you to create it. Click Yes in the dialog and the unique index will be added. For more information, see Create New Unique Index Message.
1. Navigate to the constraint in Database Explorer, double-click it or open the table that owns the constraint,
2. Switch to the Constraints tab and select Edit Constraint on the shortcut menu.
1. Navigate to Constraints in Database Explorer
2. Select Delete on the shortcut menu.
-or-
1. Open the table that owns the key.
2. Switch to the Constraints tab.
3. Select Delete Constraint on its shortcut menu.
Assume you need to ensure that each employee in table Emp (described in the Creating a Database and Two Tables walkthrough) has and will have a valid reference to a manager. That is, for each employee value of field MGR there always will be one of the EMPNO values in the same table. This is best implemented with a foreign key.
That’s all you need to do to establish a referential integrity constraint.