How to: Show Column Properties
You can display read-only properties for both tables and views in the Properties window using Server Explorer. You can edit column properties in the Column Properties tab of Table Designer.
Note
A new version of Table Designer appears for databases in the SQL Server 2012 format. This topic describes the old version of Table Designer, which you use with databases in earlier formats of SQL Server.
In the new version, you can change a table definition through a graphical interface or directly in a script pane. If you use the graphical interface, the table’s definition is automatically updated in the script pane. To apply the SQL code in the script pane, choose the Update button. For more information about the new version, see How to: Create Database Objects Using Table Designer.
Note
To show properties for elements other than columns, such as tables and views, right-click the element and click Properties.
Note
Your computer might show different names or locations for some of the Visual Studio user interface elements in the following instructions. The Visual Studio edition that you have and the settings that you use determine these elements. For more information, see Customizing Development Settings in Visual Studio.
To show read-only column properties in the Properties window in Server Explorer
Expand the table or view with column properties you want to see.
Right-click a column in the tree under the table or view and click Properties.
The Properties window updates to show the properties of the selected column.
To show column properties in the Column Properties tab in Table Designer
In Server Explorer, right-click the table with column properties you want to view or edit and click Open Table Definition.
The table opens in the Table Designer.
In Table Designer, select the column with properties you want to view or edit.
The properties of the column appear in the Column Properties tab of Table Designer.