Object Explorer

SQL Server Management Studio provides features for managing objects in instances of the Database Engine, Analysis Services, Integration Services, and Reporting Services.

Benefits of Object Explorer

Object Explorer provides a hierarchical user interface to view and manage the objects in each instance of SQL Server. The Object Explorer Details pane presents a tabular view of instance objects, and the capability to search for specific objects. The capabilities of Object Explorer vary slightly depending on the type of server, but generally include the development features for databases, and management features for all server types.

Object Explorer Tasks

Description	Topic
Describes how to open the Object Explorer and configure the options that define the behavior of the explorer.	Open and Configure Object Explorer
Describes how to connect Object Explorer to an instance of the Database Engine, Analysis Services, Reporting Services, and Integration Services.	Connect to an Instance From Object Explorer
Describes how to manage objects represented as nodes in the Object Explorer hierarchy.	Manage Objects by Using Object Explorer
Describes the Object Explorer Details Pane, a tabular view of all of the objects in the server with a user interface to manage them.	Object Explorer Details Pane
Describes ways to run custom reports in SQL Server Management Studio.	Custom Reports in Management Studio