New Statistics (General Page)

Statistics are used by the query optimizer to calculate the best query plan. When automatic statistics is enabled (the default), Microsoft SQL Server automatically retains statistics that it finds useful.

Use the New Statistics (General Page) to create statistics that you think will be useful. This is particularly important if you have turned off the automatic statistics feature.

Options

  • Table Name
    Displays the name of the table described by the statistics.
  • Statistics Name
    Displays the name of the database object where the statistics are stored.
  • Statistics Columns
    This grid shows the columns described by this set of statistics. All values in the grid are read-only.
  • Name
    Displays the name of the column described by the statistics. This can be a single column or a combination of columns in a single table.
  • Data Type
    Indicates the data type of the columns described by the statistics.
  • Size
    Displays the size of the data type for each column.
  • Identity
    Indicates an identity column when it is checked.
  • Allow Nulls
    Indicates whether the column accepts NULL values.
  • Add
    Add additional columns from the table to the statistics grid.
  • Remove
    Remove the selected column from the statistics grid.
  • Move Up
    Move the selected column to an earlier location in the statistics grid. The location in the grid can substantially impact the usefulness of the statistics.
  • Move Down
    Move the selected column to a later location in the statistics grid.
  • Statistics for these columns were last updated:
    Indicates how old the statistics are. Statistics are more valuable when they are current. Update statistics after large changes to the data or after adding atypical data. Statistics for tables that have a consistent distribution of data need to be updated less frequently.
  • Update statistics for these columns
    Check to update the statistics when the dialog box is closed.

See Also

Other Resources

Index Statistics

Help and Information

Getting SQL Server 2005 Assistance