Lesson 2: Running Transact-SQL Script Files by Using sqlcmd

After you use sqlcmd to connect to a named instance of Microsoft SQL Server, the next step is to create a Transact-SQL script file. A Transact-SQL script file is a text file that can contain a combination of Transact-SQL statements, sqlcmd commands, and scripting variables.

To create a simple Transact-SQL script file by using Notepad, follow these steps:

  1. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Notepad.

  2. Copy and paste the following Transact-SQL code into Notepad:

    USE AdventureWorks
    GO
    SELECT c.FirstName + ' ' + c.LastName AS 'Employee Name',
    a.AddressLine1, a.AddressLine2 , a.City, a.PostalCode 
    FROM Person.Contact AS c 
    INNER JOIN HumanResources.Employee AS e 
    ON c.ContactID = e.ContactID
    INNER JOIN HumanResources.EmployeeAddress ea ON 
    ea.EmployeeID = e.EmployeeID
    INNER JOIN Person.Address AS a ON a.AddressID = ea.AddressID
    GO
    
  3. Save the file as myScript.sql in the C drive.

To run the script file

  1. Open a command prompt window.

  2. In the Command Prompt window, type: sqlcmd -S myServer\instanceName -i C:\myScript.sql

  3. Press ENTER.

A list of Adventure Works employee names and addresses is written to the command prompt window.

To save this output to a text file

  1. Open a command prompt window.

  2. In the Command Prompt window, type: sqlcmd -S myServer\instanceName -i C:\myScript.sql -o C:\EmpAdds.txt

  3. Press ENTER.

No output is returned in the Command Prompt window. Instead, the output is sent to the EmpAdds.txt file. You can verify this output by opening the EmpAdds.txt file.

For more information, see sqlcmd Utility.

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