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How to: Rename Indexes (Visual Database Tools)

New indexes are automatically given system-defined names based on the database table name. If you create multiple indexes on a table, the index names are appended with "_1," "_2," and so on. You can rename an index as long as index names are unique within the table.

Note

When you create a primary key or unique constraint for a table, an index with the same name as the constraint is automatically created for the table. Because index names must be unique for a table, you cannot create or rename an index to have the same name as the primary key or unique constraint for the table.

To rename an index

  1. In Object Explorer, right-click the table with the index you want to rename and click Design (Modify in SP1 or earlier).

  2. From the Table Designer menu, click Indexes/Keys.

  3. Select the index from the Selected Primary/Unique Key or Index list.

  4. In the grid, click Name and type a new name into the text box.

    Your changes are saved to the database when you save the table.

See Also

Other Resources

Working with Indexes (Visual Database Tools)

Help and Information

Getting SQL Server 2005 Assistance