Managing Queries in the Project Explorer

See Also      Tasks

The Project Explorer provides a graphical means of managing the queries in your database project. By double-clicking, dragging and dropping, and using the right-click features, you can open, create, edit, and execute your queries.

Note   In Microsoft Visual C++^®, the Project Explorer is called FileView. From FileView, you can manage queries in much the same way as you can in the Project Explorer. For more information, see FileView in the Visual C++ documentation.

For details about using the Microsoft Visual Database Tools with database projects, see Working with Database Projects.

If you are working in a database project, you can perform the following tasks from the Project Explorer:

• Create, modify, execute, and save queries with the Query Designer, which includes a visual query tool, an interactive SQL window, and an output window for viewing and updating result sets.
  
  
• Share queries between applications by:
  • Dragging a saved query file into any editor in your development environment to insert the query's SQL statement into that editor. For example, you can drag a query file onto the Visual Database Tools stored procedure editor to add the SQL statement to a stored procedure, or drag a saved query into the Visual C++^® or Visual J++™ editor to add the SQL statement to your ODBC code.
    
    
  • Dragging a query into any OLE container, such as a Microsoft^® Excel spreadsheet, or paste it into an application or component that isn't an OLE container. For example, you can paste the SQL statement into Microsoft^® Access as a pass-through query without having to test it again.

  Note   This drag-and-drop feature is not available in Microsoft^® Visual Basic^®. You can, however, paste the SQL statement into your code in a Visual Basic project to set the SQL property of a Remote Data Objects (RDO) Command object.

To add a query in the Project Explorer

1. Expand the project name to show the names of all the data connections currently defined for your project.
   
   
2. Right-click the data connection for the database you want to work with, and then choose Add Query from the shortcut menu.

Tip   You can also right-click the project name, and then select Add Item to open the Add Item dialog box.

3. In the Add Item dialog box, choose Database Query.
   
   
4. In the Name box, type in a name for the query, and then click Open.

   The Query Designer opens. For details about creating the query, see Creating Queries.

After creating the query in the Query Designer, you can save it. When you save a query:

• The query is added to or updated in the list of queries under the data connection node in the Project Explorer.
  
  
• Changes to the query definition are saved in a file in your project directory.
  
  
• Changes to the layout of the query diagram or the configuration of the panes inside the Query window are saved with the query definition in the query file.

To save a query

• From the File menu, choose Save or Save As, and then enter a name for your query.

The Query Designer saves the SQL statement in a file, along with the window layout and any parameter information you have specified. By default, the query is saved in the project directory (the directory you specified when you created the database project), but you can specify any location available to your computer.

Note   Queries are not stored as part of the database that you are querying. Instead, they are stored as stand-alone files on your computer or on the network you are connected to.

After creating a query, you can run it or open it again for further editing. If you no longer need a query, you can also delete it from the project.

To run, edit, or delete a query in the Project Explorer

1. Expand the project name to show the names of all the data connections currently defined for your database project, and then expand the data connection for the database you want to use.
   
   
2. Right-click the query to work with, and then choose one of the following options.

   To	Choose
   Edit the query	Design
   Run the query	Open (or double-click the name of the query)
   Delete the query	Delete
   Rename the query	Rename