using full text search in sql server 2008

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Using Full Text Search in SQL Server 2008By :Firoz Fasilan

May 17, 2011

IntroductionSQL Server 2008 Full-Text Search feature can be used by application developers to execute full-text

search queries against character based data residing in a SQL Server table. To use full text search the

developer must create a full-text index for the table against which they want to run full-text search

queries. For a particular SQL Server Table or Indexed View you can create a maximum of one Full-

Text Index. The full-text index can be created for columns which use any of the following data types -

CHAR, NCHAR, VARCHAR, NVARCHAR, TEXT, NTEXT, VARBINARY, VARBINARY (MAX), IMAGE and

XML.

Each full-text index can be used to index one or more columns from the base table, and each column

can have a specific language which is supported by SQL Server 2008 Full-Text Search. Full-Text

Search in SQL Server 2008 supports more than 50 different languages such as Arabic, Chinese,

English, Japanese and Spanish etc.

For the complete list of supported full-text languages, run the below TSQL query.

Usemaster

GO

SELECT*FROMsys.fulltext_languagesORDERBY name ASC

GO

Installing Full-Text Search

The Full-Text Search feature of SQL Server 2008 is an optional component the Database Engine and

as a result this feature is not installed by default. During SQL Server 2008 Installation, the database

administrator needs to select the Full-Text Search feature as shown below :


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In case Full-Text feature is not available on the server then the DBA can install this feature by

running the SQL Server 2008 setup again and selecting the New SQL Server stand-alone

installation or add feature to an existing installation option under Installation (as shown

below).


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If you are new to SQL Server 2008 and would like to know how to steps which you need to follow in

order to install SQL Server 2008 then please review theSteps to install SQL Server 2008article.

Once the full-text search feature is successfully installed on the server you will be able to see SQL

Full-text Filter Daemon Launcherservice in the SQL Server 2008 Configuration Manager. Make

sure this service is started before attempting to use Full-Text Search or the queries will fail.

Steps to Configure a Database for Full-Text Search

Configure Full Text Search for a particular table with in a database by following the below steps. In

this article we will examine each step in detail.

Create a Full-Text Catalog Create a Full-Text Index Populate a Full-Text Index

Create a Full-Text Catalog

Once you are connected to the SQL Server 2008 instance expand Databases node > AdventureWorks

database > Storage . Right click Full Text Catalogs and select New Full-Text Catalog from the

drop down link as shown below to create a Full-Text Catalog for the AdventureWorks database.
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In New Full-Text Catalog screen, you need to mention the name

asAdventureWorksFullTextCatalog for Full-text Catalog. Next you need specify DBO as the owner

for this catalog and finally click OK to save and to create AdventureWorksFullTextCatalog Full-text

catalog as shown in the below snippet.


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Once the Full-Text catalog is created successfully, it will be visible under the Full Text

Catalogs shown below.


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Create a Full-Text IndexOnce you have successfully created a Full-Text Catalog, the next step is to create a Full-Text

Index. In this example, we will be creating a Full-Text Index on the HumanResources.Employee table

of the AdventureWorks database. Note that you can create only one full-text index on a particular SQL

Server table.

1. Right click the HumanResources.Employee table and select Full-Text Indexand choose Define

Full-Text Index as shown below to open the Full-Text Indexing Wizard.


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2. In the Welcome to the SQL Server Full-Text Indexing Wizard screen click Next to continue

with the configuration.


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3. In the Select an Index wizard screen, you will be shown a list of all the valid indices which are

available for the HumanResources.Employee table under the Unique Indexdrop down

list shown below . In this example select the PK_Employee_EmployeeID index and click Next to

continue with the wizard.


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4. In the Select Table Columns screen, you will be shown a list of all the columns which have

character-based or image-based data types and which are eligible for full-text queries. Select all the

columns individually and also choose the desired Language for Word Breaker. In this example use

English as the language for Word Breaker. Note that Full-Text Search in SQL Server 2008 supports

more than 50 different languages. Click Next to continue.


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5. In the Select Change Tracking wizard screen, select a change tracking method (see below).

When you define automatic or manual change tracking, the full population of the index starts

immediately once the wizard is complete. To avoid a full population at the end of the wizard you need

to choose Do not track changes option and uncheck the Start full population when index is

createdcheck box as shown below. Click Next to continue.


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6. In the Select Catalog, Index File Group, and Stop List screen, select

theAdventureWorksFullTextCatalog as thefull text catalog, this is the catalog created earlier.

Select the index Filegroup as PRIMARY and leave rest of the settings unchanged and click Next to

continue with the wizard.


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7. In Define Population Schedules (Optional) screen, set the schedule to populate the full-text

index. To manually populate the full-text index leave this screen as it is and click next to continue.


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8. In the Full-Text Indexing Wizard Description screen, you will be able to see a quick summary

of the options which you have selected so far. Click Finish to complete the configuration of the Full-

Text Index.


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9. You will be shown a success message once the full-text index is configured successfully :

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Populate a Full-Text IndexThe final step before you can start using Full-Text Search Queries is to Populate the Full-Text Index.

This can be done by right clicking the HumanResources.Employee table and selecting Full-Text Index

> Start Full Population as shown below.


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You will be shown a success message once the Full-Text Index Population is completed successfully:


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Once the Full-Text Index is successfully created and populated the next step is to run full-text search

queries. SQL Server 2008 provides a range of full-text predicates such as CONTAINS and FREETEXT

as well as row set valued functions such as CONTAINSTABLE and FREETEXTTEABLES for writing full-

text search queries.

FREETEXT Predicate

Use the FREETEXT predicate in a WHERE clause to search columns containing character based data

types, this find matches for the meaning of the word(s) and not just the exact text in the search

condition. When FREETEXT is used, the SQL Server Query engine internally assigns each term a

weight and then finds the matches.

CONTAINS Predicate

Use the CONTAINS predicate in a WHERE clause to search columns containing character based data

types for precise or less precise matches to a single words or phrases. If you want to combine

different words within a search, then you need to use conditions such as AND, OR etc within the

search queries.

Below are some of the examples of full-text search queries which can be run against

theHumanResources.Employee table in AdventureWorks.

USE AdventureWorks

GO

SELECT EmployeeID, Title

FROM HumanResources.Employee

WHEREFREETEXT(*,'Recruiter')


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GO

SELECTTOP 5 EmployeeID, Title

FROM HumanResources.Employee

WHERECONTAINS ([Title],'Recruiter OR Manager')

GO

Conclusion

In this article you have seen how easily you can configure and use the Full-Text Search Feature of SQLServer 2008. Database developers can use this feature to perform complex queries against character

data in SQL Server 2008 tables.

using full text search in sql server 2008

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