SQL Server Tutorial

<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="utf-8"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> <meta name="keywords" content="sql server tutorial, free microsoft sql server tutorial, sqlserver, ms, enterprise manager, how to use, create"> <meta name="Description" content="Learn how to use SQL Server with this free SQL Server tutorial."> <link rel="canonical" href="https://www.quackit.com/sql_server/tutorial/"> <title>SQL Server Tutorial</title> <script src="//ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.1.1/jquery.min.js"></script> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/pix/favicon96.png"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/pix/apple-touch-icon.png"> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com"> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.gstatic.com" crossorigin> <link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Lato:ital,wght@0,400;0,700;1,400&display=swap" rel="stylesheet"> <link href="/common/css/master.45.min.css" rel="stylesheet"> <script async src="https://cdn.fuseplatform.net/publift/tags/2/3499/fuse.js"></script>  <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-Q3H025ZKLN"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-Q3H025ZKLN'); </script> </head> <body> <header class="site-header"> <div class="site-header-base"> <div class="site-logo"> <a title="Quackit Homepage" target="_top" href="/"><img src="/pix/quackit_logo_watermark.png" width="87" height="33" alt="Quackit Logo"></a> </div> <button id="site-nav-toggler" class="site-nav-toggler" aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="site-nav"> <span class="sr-only">Toggle navigation</span> ☰ </button> </div> <nav id="site-nav" class="site-nav"> <div class="site-links"> <ul> <li><a href="/"><i class="fa fa-home"></i> <span class="sr-only">Home</span></a></li> <li><a href="/html/">HTML</a></li> <li><a href="/css/">CSS</a></li> <li><a href="/scripting/">Scripting</a></li> <li><a href="/database/">Database</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="site-search-top"> <form action="/search/" id="cse-search-box-bottom" class="site-search"> <div> <input type="hidden" name="cx" value="partner-pub-6331358926293806:98x0fk-bbgi"> <input type="hidden" name="cof" value="FORID:10"> <input type="hidden" name="ie" value="ISO-8859-1"> <input type="text" name="q" size="20" class="site-search-input"> <button type="submit" name="sa" class="site-search-button"><i class="fa fa-search"></i></button> </div> </form> </div> </nav> </header> <div class="main"> <article class="content"> <h1 class="page-title">SQL Server Tutorial</h1> <div class="ad ad-top">  <div data-fuse="23059883638"></div> </div> <ul class="pager"> <li><a href="/database/"><i class="fa fa-long-arrow-left" aria-hidden="true"></i> Database Tutorials</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2017/tutorial/sql_server_2017_introduction.cfm">Start Tutorial <i class="fa fa-long-arrow-right" aria-hidden="true"></i></a></li> </ul> <p class="lead">Learn how to use SQL Server starting with the basics. Create a database, add data, run queries, backup a database, restore, and more.</p> <h2>SQL Server 2017</h2> <div class="index"> <div class="row"> <div class="cell col-2"> <ul> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2017/tutorial/sql_server_2017_introduction.cfm">SQL Server Introduction</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2017/tutorial/sql_server_2017_installation.cfm">SQL Server Installation</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2017/tutorial/sql_server_2017_management_tools.cfm">SQL Server Management Tools</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2017/tutorial/create_a_database_in_sql_server_2017.cfm">Create a Database</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2017/tutorial/create_a_table_in_sql_server_2017.cfm">Create a Table</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2017/tutorial/create_a_relationship_in_sql_server_2017.cfm">Create a Relationship</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2017/tutorial/insert_data_in_sql_server_2017.cfm">Insert Data</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2017/tutorial/create_a_query_in_sql_server_2017.cfm">Create a Query</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2017/tutorial/create_a_view_in_sql_server_2017.cfm">Create a View</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2017/tutorial/create_a_stored_procedure_in_sql_server_2017.cfm">Create a Stored Procedure</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2017/tutorial/backup_a_database_in_sql_server_2017.cfm">Backup a Database</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2017/tutorial/restore_a_database_in_sql_server_2017.cfm">Restore a Database</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="cell col-2"> <a target="_blank" data-lightbox="sql_server_tutorial" href="/pix/sql_server/sql_server_2017/tutorial/sql_server_2017_tutorial_1.gif"><img src="/pix/sql_server/sql_server_2017/tutorial/sql_server_2017_tutorial_1.gif" class="screenshot" alt="Screenshot of SQL Operations Studio (SQLOPS)."></a> </div> </div> </div> <aside class="info"> <p>This tutorial was done running SQL Server 2017 on a Mac. It uses SQL Operations Studio (SQLOPS), which is a new database management tool (available on Mac, Linux, and Windows). If you use Windows, and you prefer to see examples using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), check out the SQL Server 2016 tutorial below.</p> </aside> <h2>SQL Server 2016</h2> <div class="index"> <div class="row"> <div class="cell col-2"> <ul> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2016/tutorial/sql_server_2016_introduction.cfm">SQL Server Introduction</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2016/tutorial/install_sql_server_2016.cfm">Install SQL Server</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2016/tutorial/sql_server_management_studio.cfm">SQL Server Management Studio</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2016/tutorial/create_a_database_in_sql_server_2016.cfm">Create a Database</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2016/tutorial/create_a_table_in_sql_server_2016.cfm">Create a Table</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2016/tutorial/create_a_table_from_an_sql_script_in_sql_server_2016.cfm">Create a Table using SQL</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2016/tutorial/create_a_relationship_in_sql_server_2016.cfm">Create a Relationship</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2016/tutorial/insert_data_in_sql_server_2016.cfm">Insert Data</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2016/tutorial/import_data_in_sql_server_2016.cfm">Import Data</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2016/tutorial/query_designer_in_sql_server_2016.cfm">Query Designer</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2016/tutorial/create_a_view_in_sql_server_2016.cfm">Create a View</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2016/tutorial/view_designer_in_sql_server_2016.cfm">View Designer</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2016/tutorial/create_a_stored_procedure_in_sql_server_2016.cfm">Create a Stored Procedure</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2016/tutorial/save_query_results_to_csv_file_in_sql_server_2016.cfm">Save Query Results to CSV File</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2016/tutorial/create_a_login_in_sql_server_2016.cfm">Create a Login</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2016/tutorial/create_a_database_user_in_sql_server_2016.cfm">Create a Database User</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2016/tutorial/backup_a_database_in_sql_server_2016.cfm">Backup a Database</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2016/tutorial/restore_a_database_in_sql_server_2016.cfm">Restore a Database</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="cell col-2"> <a target="_blank" data-lightbox="sql_server_tutorial" href="/pix/sql_server/sql_server_2016/tutorial/sql_server_2016_tutorial_1.png"><img src="/pix/sql_server/sql_server_2016/tutorial/sql_server_2016_tutorial_1.png" class="screenshot" alt="Screenshot of SQL Server Management Studio."></a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ad">  <div data-fuse="23059883644"></div> </div> <h2>SQL Server on Mac</h2> <div class="cards"> <article class="card"> <a class="wrapper" href="/sql_server/mac/install_sql_server_on_a_mac.cfm"> <img src="/pix/stock/sql_server_500x200.gif" alt="Screenshot of SQLOPS running SQL Server"> <div class="card-body"> <h2>Install SQL Server on a Mac</h2> <p>SQL Server is now available on the Mac (starting from SQL Server 2017). This tutorial outlines all steps you need to do, from installing Docker, to installing a management tool such as sql-cli and SQL Operations Studio.</p> </div> </a> </article> <article class="card"> <a class="wrapper" href="/sql_server/mac/install_sql_operations_studio_on_a_mac.cfm"> <img src="/pix/stock/sqlops_logo_500x200.gif" alt="SQLOPS logo"> <div class="card-body"> <h2>Install SQL Operations Studio on a Mac</h2> <p>SQL Operations Studio (SQLOPS) is a free, lightweight tool for managing SQL Server, Azure SQL Database, and Azure SQL Data Warehouse. If you've just installed SQL Server on your Mac, this is the perfect GUI tool to get you started.</p> </div> </a> </article> <article class="card"> <a class="wrapper" href="/sql_server/mac/install_docker_for_sql_server_on_a_mac.cfm"> <img src="/pix/stock/docker_500x200.gif" alt="Screenshot of installing Docker"> <div class="card-body"> <h2>Install Docker for SQL Server on a Mac</h2> <p>You need to install Docker before you install SQL Server on your Mac. This is because SQL Server runs in a Docker container. This tutorial also shows you how to increase the memory allocation in Docker so that it's all set to run SQL Server. </p> </div> </a> </article> <article class="card"> <a class="wrapper" href="/sql_server/mac/install_sql-cli_on_a_mac.cfm"> <img src="/pix/stock/sql-cli_500x200.gif" alt="Screenshot of sql-cli in the Terminal on a Mac"> <div class="card-body"> <h2>Install sql-cli on a Mac</h2> <p>Once you've installed SQL Server on your Mac, you'll probably want to run some queries. sql-cli is a command line tool that allows you to run SQL queries right from your Mac's Terminal window.</p> </div> </a> </article> <article class="card"> <a class="wrapper" href="/sql_server/mac/how_to_copy_a_file_from_the_host_to_a_docker_container.cfm"> <img src="/pix/stock/docker_copy_file_500x200.gif" alt="Screenshot of the command for copying a file in Docker"> <div class="card-body"> <h2>How to Copy a File from the Host to a Docker Container</h2> <p>Handy if you need to restore a database .bak file to SQL Server running inside a Docker container. </p> </div> </a> </article> <article class="card"> <a class="wrapper" href="/sql_server/mac/how_to_restore_a_bak_file_using_sqlops.cfm"> <img src="/pix/stock/sqlops_restore_db_500x200.gif" alt="Screenshot of the Restore button in SQLOPS"> <div class="card-body"> <h2>Restore a Database .bak File using SQLOPS</h2> <p>Use SQL Operations Studio to restore a database from a .bak file. It's all done by pointing and clicking your way through the GUI.</p> </div> </a> </article> <article class="card"> <a class="wrapper" href="/sql_server/mac/install_dbeaver_on_a_mac.cfm"> <img src="/pix/stock/dbeaver_logo_500x200.gif" alt="DBeaver logo"> <div class="card-body"> <h2>Install DBeaver on a Mac</h2> <p>DBeaver is a free GUI database management tool that you can use to manage SQL Server. This step by step tutorial shows you how to download and install it on a Mac.</p> </div> </a> </article> <article class="card"> <a class="wrapper" href="/sql_server/mac/connect_to_sql_server_with_dbeaver.cfm"> <img src="/pix/stock/dbeaver_connection_500x200.gif" alt="Screenshot of a DBeaver connection dialog"> <div class="card-body"> <h2>Connect to SQL Server with DBeaver</h2> <p>Once you've installed DBeaver, you'll probably want to connect to a database. This is a step by step tutorial to get you up and running.</p> </div> </a> </article> </div> <h2>Older SQL Server Versions</h2> <p>Here are some tutorials for previous versions of SQL Server.</p> <div class="cards"> <article class="card"> <a class="wrapper" href="/sql_server/sql_server_2014/tutorial/"> <img src="/pix/sql_server/sql_server_2014/tutorial/sql_server_management_studio_2.png" alt="SQL Server 2014"> <div class="card-body"> <h2>SQL Server 2014 Tutorial</h2> <p>SQL Server 2014 is the predecessor of SQL Server 2016.</p> <p>Covers similar topics to the 2016 tutorial, but using SQL Server 2014.</p> </div> </a> </article> <article class="card"> <a class="wrapper" href="/sql_server/sql_server_2008/tutorial/"> <img src="/pix/sql_server/sql_server_2008/tutorial/sql_server_management_studio.gif" alt="SQL Server 2008"> <div class="card-body"> <h2>SQL Server 2008 Tutorial</h2> <p>This tutorial uses SQL Server 2008.</p> <p>If you're still using SQL Server 2008, this is the tutorial for you.</p> </div> </a> </article> <article class="card"> <a class="wrapper" href="/sql_server/sql_server_2000/tutorial/"> <img src="/pix/sql_server/sql_server_2008/tutorial/sql_server_management_studio.gif" alt="SQL Server 2000"> <div class="card-body"> <h2>SQL Server 2000 Tutorial</h2> <p>This SQL Server 2000 tutorial was written a <em>really</em> long time ago!</p> <p>Check out what SQL Server used to look like. Or if you're still using SQL Server 2000... maybe it's time to think about an upgrade!</p> </div> </a> </article> </div> <h2>More Database Tutorials</h2> <ul class="steps"> <li> <figure> <a href="/database/tutorial/"><img src="/pix/mysql/tutorial/mysql_tutorial_database_tutorial.png" class="screenshot steps" alt="Screenshot of Microsoft Access 2016"></a> <figcaption> <h3><a href="/database/tutorial/">Database Tutorial for Beginners</a></h3> <p>This database tutorial provides an overview of databases and how they work.</p> <p>No technical knowledge is required. It assumes you've never used a database before but would like to know more about they work.</p> <a class="btn btn-default" href="/database/tutorial/">Go to Database Tutorial</a> </figcaption> </figure> </li> <li> <figure> <a href="/sql/tutorial/"><img class="steps" src="/pix/stock/sql_tutorial_500x200_2.gif" alt="Screenshot of SQL code"></a> <figcaption> <h3><a href="/sql/tutorial/">SQL Tutorial</a></h3> <p>Being a relational database management system, MySQL supports SQL (Structured Query Language).</p> <p>The above MySQL tutorial covers some SQL, but I've also written a tutorial specifically for SQL.</p> <a class="btn btn-default" href="/sql/tutorial/">Go to SQL Tutorial</a> <p><strong>Bonus!</strong> If you prefer having a whole tutorial on a single page, check out my <a href="https://database.guide/sql-tutorial-for-beginners/" target="_blank">SQL tutorial for beginners</a> over at database.guide.</p> </figcaption> </figure> </li> </ul> <ul class="pager"> <li><a href="/database/"><i class="fa fa-long-arrow-left" aria-hidden="true"></i> Database Tutorials</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2017/tutorial/sql_server_2017_introduction.cfm">Start Tutorial <i class="fa fa-long-arrow-right" aria-hidden="true"></i></a></li> </ul> </article> <div class="sidebar"> <nav> <ul> <li> <h3><a href="/sql_server/tutorial/"><i class="fa fa-database"></i> SQL Server 2017</a></h3> <ul> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2017/tutorial/sql_server_2017_introduction.cfm">SQL Server Introduction</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2017/tutorial/sql_server_2017_installation.cfm">SQL Server Installation</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2017/tutorial/sql_server_2017_management_tools.cfm">SQL Server Management Tools</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2017/tutorial/create_a_database_in_sql_server_2017.cfm">Create a Database</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2017/tutorial/create_a_table_in_sql_server_2017.cfm">Create a Table</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2017/tutorial/create_a_relationship_in_sql_server_2017.cfm">Create a Relationship</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2017/tutorial/insert_data_in_sql_server_2017.cfm">Insert Data</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2017/tutorial/create_a_query_in_sql_server_2017.cfm">Create a Query</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2017/tutorial/create_a_view_in_sql_server_2017.cfm">Create a View</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2017/tutorial/create_a_stored_procedure_in_sql_server_2017.cfm">Create a Stored Procedure</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2017/tutorial/backup_a_database_in_sql_server_2017.cfm">Backup a Database</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2017/tutorial/restore_a_database_in_sql_server_2017.cfm">Restore a Database</a></li> </ul> </li> <li> <h3><a href="/sql_server/"><i class="fa fa-book"></i> SQL Server</a></h3> <ul> <li><a href="/sql_server/tutorial/">SQL Server Tutorial</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/mac/">SQL Server on Mac</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2017/tutorial/">SQL Server 2017</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2016/tutorial/">SQL Server 2016</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2014/tutorial/">SQL Server 2014</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2008/tutorial/" title="">SQL Server 2008</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/sql_server_2000/tutorial/" title="">SQL Server 2000</a></li> <li><a href="/sql_server/t-sql/examples/">T-SQL Examples</a></li> </ul> </li> <li> <h3><a href="/database/"><i class="fa fa-database"></i> Other DB Tutorials</a></h3> <ul> <li><a href="/database/tutorial/" title="Into to databases">Database Tutorial</a></li> <li><a href="/sql/tutorial/" title="Structured Query Language">SQL Tutorial</a></li> <li><a href="/sqlite/tutorial/" title="">SQLite Tutorial</a></li> <li><a href="/mysql/tutorial/" title="Open source DB management system">MySQL Tutorial</a></li> <li><a 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SQL Server Tutorial