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Query/View Designer, Database Tools, Options Dialog Box

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Use this page of the Options dialog box to change the defaults for Query and View Designer. You can access the Options dialog box from the Tools menu.

Query and View Designer Options

  • SQL query time-out
    Specifies the number of seconds allowed for a query before the query times out. The valid time-out range is 1–65535 seconds.
  • Launch Add Table dialog on New Query/View
    Displays a list of available tables, which you might include in the new query. If you do not select this option, you can choose Add Table on the shortcut menu at any time.

Default pane view

  • Diagram
    Displays the Diagram pane in the Query Designer. The Diagram pane displays the tables and other table-structured objects for the query or view, the available data columns, and icons indicating how the columns are used. If you do not select this option, you can choose Diagram on the Panes sub-menu of the View menu.
  • Grid
    Displays the Grid pane in the Query Designer. With the Grid pane you can specify query or view options such as what rows to select and how to group them. If you do not select this option, you can choose Grid on the Panes sub-menu of the View menu.
  • SQL
    Displays the SQL pane in the Query Designer. The SQL pane shows the SQL statement for the query or view. If you do not select this option, you can choose SQL on the Panes sub-menu of the View menu.
  • Results
    Displays the Results pane in the Query Designer. The Results pane shows the data retrieved by the query or view. If you do not select this option, you can choose Results on the Panes sub-menu of the View menu.

Query Specific Options

  • Query type
    Selects the default syntax for new queries. You can choose Insert Value query, Insert query, Update query, Delete query, Make Table query, or Select query.
  • Parameter prefix
    Provides a way to distinguish run-time parameter substitution variables using a prefix. While you could use the same symbol for all the run-time variables, each parameter would be nameless and you would have to keep track of each parameter by its ordinal position in the SQL statement. With a parameter prefix, you can expose the parameter with a meaningful name. You can also specify the default parameter prefix by clicking Property Pages on the View menu, and then entering a parameter prefix value on the Parameters tab. This option is available only when designing a query, not when designing a view.
  • Parameter suffix
    Provides a way to distinguish run-time parameter substitution variables using a suffix. You must specify a parameter prefix in order to also use a parameter suffix. While you could use the same symbol for all the run-time variables, each parameter would be nameless and you would have to keep track of each parameter by its ordinal position in the SQL statement. With a parameter suffix, you can expose the parameter with a meaningful name. You can also specify the default parameter suffix by clicking Property Pages on the View menu, and then entering a parameter suffix value on the Parameters tab. This option is available only when designing a query, not when designing a view.
  • Parameter escape character
    Specifies the escape character for using the actual value of the following character. This is useful where conflicts might occur with the default parameter prefix or suffix. You can also specify the default parameter escape character by clicking Property Pages on the View menu, and then entering an escape character on the Parameters tab.

See Also

Query and View Designer | Database Projects, Database Tools, Options Dialog Box | Database Designer, Database Tools, Options Dialog Box | Server Explorer, Database Tools, Options Dialog Box