Creating and Managing Database Diagrams

You can use database diagrams to:

• Manipulate database objects without writing Transact-SQL code.
• Visualize the structures of database tables and the relationships between tables.
• Provide various visualizations of complex databases.
• Experiment with database changes without modifying the underlying database.
• Create new tables, indexes, relationships, and other constraints.
• Alter the structure of your database.

For example, you can create a database diagram for your company’s payroll department that shows only tables that hold employee benefits information. Alternatively, you can create a diagram for your development team that shows only those tables that are used in a specific application module.

You can change the size, shape, and position of objects in your diagram without affecting their definitions in the database. When you save your database diagram, both the layout of your diagram and any changes you made to the object definitions in your diagram are preserved.

You do not need to set up additional security features to use database diagrams. Database diagrams are saved in the dtproperties table of the database. The dtproperties table is in the database in which you’ve created a database diagram.

You can use database diagrams to create and modify database objects, including:

• Tables
• Columns
• Table relationships
• Indexes
• Constraints
• Stored procedures
• Triggers

When you create a new database diagram, you are given a blank diagram surface to work on.

To create a database diagram

See Also