Using Books Online (SQL Server Compact Edition)

SQL Server Compact Edition Books Online is the online documentation provided with Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition (SQL Server Compact Edition). There are two ways to access SQL Server Compact Edition Books Online, from within SQL Server Compact Edition by clicking Start, clicking All Programs, and then clicking Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition, or from within SQL Server 2005 or Visual Studio 2005. The Help experience can vary depending on how you access it.

From within SQL Server Compact Edition

Information in SQL Server Compact Edition Books Online appears in a window that contains three panes:

  • The Navigation pane is located on the left side of the window. This pane contains the Contents tab, the Index tab, the Search tab, and the Favorites tab.
  • The Topic pane is located on the right side of the window. This pane displays the selected topic or the default topic.
  • The Toolbar pane is located under the SQL Server Books Online title bar.

You can find information in SQL Server Compact Edition Books Online in the following ways:

  • Navigating through the contents.
  • Typing a keyword or phrase in the index and performing a search.

Here are some tips for navigating through SQL Server Compact Edition Books Online:

  • To return to the SQL Server Compact Edition Home page, click Home on the toolbar.
  • Colored, underlined text indicates links to other topics. To link to another topic, including Web pages, click the colored, underlined text.
  • If you use a particular topic frequently, you can add it to your Favorites list.

The following table shows the commands on the shortcut menu that you can use to display and customize information.

Command Description

Right-click the Contents tab, and then click Open All.

Opens all books or folders. This command works only if the Contents tab is displayed.

Right-click the Contents tab, and then click Close All.

Closes all books or folders. This command works only if the Contents tab is displayed.

Right-click the Contents tab, and then click Print.

Prints the topic.

Right-click the Contents tab, and then click Jump to URL.

Displays a window in which you can enter a URL to jump to.

You can access these commands by using the keyboard. Press SHIFT+F10 to display the shortcut menu, and then click the appropriate shortcut keys.

From within SQL Server 2005 or Visual Studio 2005

Books Online uses the Microsoft Document Explorer as the interface for Help documentation. With this release, there are now even more routes to information in Books Online. You can find information in the following ways:

  • Navigating the table of contents
  • Looking up keywords in the index
  • Searching on words and phrases and filtering the search results, if desired
  • Browsing a categorized set of links to help with common user tasks
  • Browsing a dynamically generated list of list of context-dependent topics
  • Pressing F1 while viewing a user interface element to display a topic about it

SQL Server 2005 and the Document Explorer introduce new features and enhance existing ones to help users find information faster. The following table briefly describes the new and enhanced features in Books Online and provides links to more information about them.

Feature Description

How Do I

A hierarchical set of pages containing topics about common SQL Server tasks.

For more information, see How to: Browse for Information by Subject.

Search

A search engine for performing filtered or unfiltered keyword searches of topics.

For more information, see How to: Filter Help Content.

For information about refining your search, see Full-Text Search Tips.

Index

An index lets you perform a search by typing a keyword or phrase.

For more information about locating information by entering keywords, see Index Searches.

Contents

The table of contents is displayed.

Help favorites

A place where you can save bookmarks and search results for easy retrieval later.

For more information about saving links to your topics, see How to: Save Links to Favorite Information.

For information about saving your Help search results, see How to: Save Help Searches.

Dynamic Help

Automatically displays links to relevant information while users work in the SQL Server Management Studio environment.

For more information about the Books Online viewer, Document Explorer, see Help on Help (Microsoft Document Explorer Help).