How to: Open, View, and Print a Deadlock File (SQL Server Management Studio)
When SQL Server Profiler generates a deadlock, you can capture and save the deadlock information to a file. After you have saved the deadlock file, you can open it in SQL Server Management Studio to view or print.
To open and view a deadlock file
On the File menu in SQL Server Management Studio, point to Open, and then click File.
In the Open File dialog box, select the .xdl file type in the Files of type box. You will now have a filtered list of only deadlock files.
To print a deadlock file
On the File menu in SQL Server Management Studio, point to Open, and then click File.
In the Open File dialog box, select the .xdl file type in the Files of type box. You will now have a filtered list of only deadlock files.
Select the deadlock file you want to print, and click Open.
On the File menu, click Print.