Context-based prompts for SQL database objects and statements

dbForge Studio for SQL Server provides smart prompts for database objects and SQL statements and auto-completes the current code.

Prompts overview

Context-based prompts for different object types

When you type a query, dbForge Studio for SQL Server displays names of all valid databases. It also displays objects from the specified database or schema, or column names from the specified table. Object types have different icons, so you can easily recognize them.

Context-based prompts for keywords

dbForge Studio for SQL Server provides a list of expected keywords to use in the current position of your code. For example, if you type SELECT *, the list shows all available keywords that match the context.

Context-based prompt of keywords

Context-based prompts for linked servers

dbForge Studio for SQL Server displays names of the following linked servers:

SQL Server
SQL Azure

Context-based prompt of linked servers

Context-based prompts for function parameters

When calling any built-in or user-defined function in a query, a hint with information about the function and parameters it requires appears.

Context-based prompt of function parameters

Context-based prompts for JOIN clauses

For JOIN clauses, dbForge Studio for SQL Server can suggest a full JOIN clause that is based on foreign keys, or conditions that are based on column names and foreign keys. This suggestion is available after JOIN and ON keywords.

Determine a current database or schema

dbForge Studio for SQL Server displays a list of database objects from a current database or schema even when their names are not specified in a query. Also, the tool finds USE statements in code and changes the current database for subsequent SQL statements.

Determining a current database or schema

Code completion in the SQLCMD mode

This feature ensures that values of variables are taken out from the document and object suggestions work as with an ordinary SQL script when scripts are executed with the help of the command line utility.

Column picker for quick list building

This feature allows defining column lists for selecting, grouping, sorting and inserting without typing any code at all.

Note

* These features are available in the Standard edition of dbForge Studio for SQL Server only.

** The Express edition of dbForge Studio for SQL Server offers partial support of these features. Full support is available in the Standard edition only.

Refresh Local Cache

If you are writing a query against a database while someone else is making changes to its structure, the suggestions offered by dbForge dbForge Studio for SQL Server may become out of date. For instance, if someone added several tables to a database while you were connected to that database, the tables will not appear in the suggestions box. To reload the database objects, click Refresh Local Cache on the Text toolbar. Refreshing suggestions applies only to the database to which you are currently connected.

Reset Suggestions Cache

If you connect to a number of different databases during the same session, dbForge dbForge Studio for SQL Server will load all the objects for each database as required, without unloading any of the previously stored objects. This means that you can go back to previous queries and continue to see suggestions for any database to which you were connected previously.

dbForge dbForge Studio for SQL Server loads database objects into its memory whenever you connect to a database, in order to display suggestions from that database. If you connect to several databases with a large number of objects, this may eventually result in running out of memory. To reset the memory at any time, click Reset Suggestion Cache on the Text toolbar.