Are you looking for a more efficient way to search through large amounts of text in your SQL Server database? Look no further than Full Text Search (FTS). In this blog post, we will explore the basics of setting up a Full Text Search index in SQL Server.

Getting Started

Before we dive into the setup process, let’s understand a few key concepts. First, Full Text Search is already enabled in modern versions of SQL Server (2008+), so there’s no need to enable it separately. Next, you’ll need a catalog for the Full Text Search indexes. Think of a catalog as a logical container that holds the indexes. Additionally, you’ll need a table with data on which you want to perform the Full Text Search. Once you have these prerequisites in place, you can proceed with creating the index.

Using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)

If you prefer a graphical user interface, SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) provides a quick and easy way to set up a Full Text Search index. Simply right-click on the table you want to index, and navigate to the “Full-Text index” section. From there, choose the “Define” option to start the wizard.

The wizard will guide you through the setup process. You’ll need to select a unique index to be used by the Full Text Search queries. If you have multiple unique indexes, you can choose any one of them. Next, select the column(s) you want to index. You can choose one or multiple character or image-based columns. If you’re dealing with binary columns that contain documents like Word files, you can enable statistical semantics to extract key phrases from those documents.

During the setup, you’ll also have the option to track changes and update the index automatically or manually. Additionally, you can assign the index to a catalog, create a new catalog if needed, choose a different filegroup for storing the index, and set the sensitivity for accents and a stop list.

Once you’ve completed the setup, you’ll have a chance to review the summary of your choices. If everything looks good, click “Finish” to create the Full Text Search index.

Running Queries

Now that you have set up the Full Text Search index, you can start running queries using the CONTAINS() function or other relevant terms. For example:

SELECT * FROM FTSTest WHERE CONTAINS(mydata, 'good')

If you want to follow along with the examples, here’s a sample table setup:

CREATE TABLE FTSTest (
    myid INT NOT NULL IDENTITY(1,1) CONSTRAINT FTSTestPK PRIMARY KEY,
    mydata VARCHAR(MAX)
)

INSERT INTO FTSTest (mydata) VALUES
    ('Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country'),
    ('there are a number of men who are good in the world'),
    ('good for men that help others'),
    ('If there are men who others might consider good, we should support them'),
    ('Good is a concept that is sometimes hard for men to comprehend'),
    ('Good is a concept that is sometimes hard for anyone to comprehend')

Conclusion

Setting up a Full Text Search index in SQL Server can greatly enhance your ability to search through large amounts of text efficiently. Whether you choose to use the SQL Server Management Studio GUI or write the T-SQL code yourself, Full Text Search is a powerful feature that can save you time and effort in your database queries.

Stay tuned for our next blog post, where we will explore advanced queries and the T-SQL setup for Full Text Search. Happy searching!