Using the Server Explorer

You need a data connection to work with the data in a data source, and, as discussed in the In Depth section of this chapter, the Server Explorer is a great tool for working with data connections. To display the Server Explorer if it's not already visible, use the View|Server Explorer menu item, or press Ctrl+Alt+S.

You can explore a database with the Server Explorer, as you see in Figure 20.3; this tool works a lot like the Windows Explorer. You can see the tables, stored SQL procedures, data views, and other entities in a database using the Server Explorer. You can manage the data in a database with the Server Explorer as well. For example, if you right-click a table, you can add a new table to the database by selecting the New Table menu item.