Using SQL Server Express Books Online

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New: 14 April 2006

SQL Server 2005 Express Edition (SQL Server Express) is a free, limited version of SQL Server 2005. Therefore, the documentation for SQL Server Express is heavily dependent on the content present in SQL Server 2005 Books Online. A separate Books Online for SQL Server Express is unavailable. To view topics that contain information about SQL Server Express features that are same as SQL Server 2005 features, in the Contents pane of SQL Server 2005 Books Online, use the SQL Server Express filter.

Note

Some of the filtered topics might refer to user interface elements or features that are not supported by SQL Server Express. This is because the documentation was written for the full edition of SQL Server 2005.

The following illustration shows the option in SQL Server 2005 Books Online to filter SQL Server Express content.

SQL Server Express Filter in Books Online

To view topics that describe the limitations of SQL Server Express or that pertain to SQL Server Express only, see the "SQL Server Express Edition Books Online" node in the SQL Server 2005 Books Online table of contents. These topics also appear if you filter the content by using the SQL Server Express attribute.

Accessing Books Online

You can access SQL Server Books Online in the following ways:

  • From the Start menu.   Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Microsoft SQL Server 2005, point to Documentation and Tutorials, and then click SQL Server Books Online.

  • From SQL Server Management Studio Express.   On the Help menu, click any one of the following:

    • How Do I
    • Search
    • Contents
    • Index
    • Help Favorites

    Note

    By default, SQL Server 2005 Books Online is not installed for SQL Server Management Studio Express. For more information, see SQL Server Management Studio Express.

  • From SQL Server Business Intelligence Development Studio.   On the Help menu, click any one of the following:

    • How Do I
    • Search
    • Contents
    • Index
    • Help Favorites

    Note

    If you install Business Intelligence Development Studio by using SQL Server Express Toolkit, Books Online is not installed. For more information, see SQL Server Express Toolkit.

  • From the F1 key or Help buttons in the user interface. For context-sensitive information, press the F1 key, or click Help in the user interface dialog box.

  • From the Dynamic Help window. The Dynamic Help window automatically displays links to Books Online topics that are related to the task you are doing. To start Dynamic Help, click Dynamic Help on the Help menu in SQL Server Management Studio or Business Intelligence Development Studio.

For information about navigating Books Online, see Using SQL Server Books Online.