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title SQL Server help content and Help Viewer | Microsoft Docs
ms.custom
ms.date 12/15/2017
ms.prod sql-non-specified
ms.prod_service sql-non-specified
ms.service
ms.component sql-non-specified
ms.technology server-general
ms.reviewer
ms.suite sql
ms.tgt_pltfrm
ms.topic article
applies_to
SQL Server 2014
SQL Server 2016
SQL Server 2017
ms.assetid 51f8a08c-51d0-41d8-8bc5-1cb4d42622fb
caps.latest.revision 8
author craigg-msft
ms.author craigg
manager jhubbard
ms.workload Inactive

SQL Server help content and Help Viewer

[!INCLUDEappliesto-ss-xxxx-xxxx-xxx-md]

You can view up-to-date SQL Server help online in a browser window in SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) by clicking View Help in the Help menu. You can use the SSMS Help Viewer to view help content that you downloaded from online sources or installed from disk. You can choose to view context-sensitive help (when you press F1 or click Help in a dialog box) in a browser or in the Help Viewer.

This article describes tools that install the Help Viewer, how to install offline help content, and how to view help for [!INCLUDEssSQL14_md] and SQL Server 2016 / SQL Server 2017.

<[!NOTE> <SQL Server 2016 and SQL Server 2017 content are now combined, although individual topics note what version they apply to. Most apply to both versions.

Help Viewer

The SSMS Help Viewer allows you to download, install, and view SQL Server help content from online sources or disk. Help Viewer has two versions: v1.x supports [!INCLUDEssSQL14_md] help, and v2.x supports SQL Server 2016/SQL Server 2017 help. The Help Viewer does not support proxy settings, and does not support the ISO format.

Note

Help Viewer v2.x can also support [!INCLUDEssSQL14_md] help if you install the content from disk.

The following tools install Help Viewer.

Tool that installs Help Viewer Help Viewer version installed
SQL Server Management Studio (latest version) v2.x
SQL Server Data Tools for Visual Studio 2015 v2.x
Visual Studio 2017 v2.x (supports SQL Server 2016 help only)
SQL Server 2014 Management Studio v1.x
Visual Studio prior to 2012 v1.x

Note

  • Installing SQL Server 2016 installs Help Viewer 1.1, which does not support SQL Server 2016/2017 help.
  • Installing SQL Server 2017 does not install Help Viewer.

View online help

Online help always shows the most up-to-date help content in a browser. To view online help in the latest version of SSMS, click View Help on the Help menu.

HelpViewer2_SSMS_ChooseOnlineORLocalHelp

View online help with Help Viewer v1.x

To view online help content with Help Viewer 1.x, do the following:

  1. Open the Help Library Manager by clicking Manage Help Settings on the Help menu.

  2. In the Help Library Manager dialog box, click Choose online or local help.

    HelpLibraryManager_MainPage_ChooseOnlineORLocal.png

  3. Click I want to use online help, click OK, and then click Exit.

    HelpLibraryManager_ChooseOnlineORLocalHelp_OnlineHelpSelected_dialog

  4. Open the Help Viewer to see the content by clicking View Help on the Help menu.

Use offline help

This process downloads the latest available online help content for SQL Server 2016/2017 (or help content from the Microsoft Download Center for SQL Server 2014), and installs it on your computer. You can then view the content in the SSMS Help Viewer.

[!NOTE]

  • SQL Server 2016 and SQL Server 2017 help are combined, although some topics note individual versions. Most topics apply to both.
  • You can use Help Viewer 2.x to view [!INCLUDEssSQL14_md] help if you install the content from disk.

Help Viewer v2.x

This process installs the most up-to-date online help content available at the time of the download, and displays it in the Help Viewer.

  1. In SSMS, click Add and Remove Help Content on the Help menu. The Help Viewer opens to the Manage Content tab.

  2. To install from the latest online source, choose Online under Installation source:.

    HelpViewer2_ManageContent_OnlineSource

    [!NOTE] To install from disk (SQL Server 2014 help), choose Disk under Installation source and specify the disk location.

    [!NOTE]

    • To change the install location, click Move next to Local store path, browse and enter a new folder path, and then click OK.
    • If the Update operation fails after changing the Local store path, close and reopen the Help Viewer, then try the update again.

  3. Click Add next to each content package that you want to install. There are 13 packages for SQL Server. Add each one to install all SQL Server help content. The package names map to the help node names as follows: Click Cancel to remove any packages added in error, or Remove to remove packages previously installed.

  4. Click Update at lower right.

    HelpViewer2_ManageContent_AddContent

    HelpViewer2_withContentInstalled

  5. To view the installed help in SSMS, press CTRL + ALT + F1, or choose Add or Remove Content from the Help menu, to launch the Help Viewer. If the help table of contents is not visible, click Contents on the left. Click the pushpin on the Contents pane to keep the pane open.

Use [!INCLUDEssSQL14_md] offline help with Help Viewer v1.x

  1. Navigate to the Product Documentation for Microsoft SQL Server 2014 download site and click Download.

  2. Click Save in the message box to save the SQLServer2014Documentation_*.exe file to your computer.

    [!NOTE] For firewall and proxy restricted environments, save the download to a USB drive or other portable media that can be carried into the environment.

  3. Double-click the .exe to unpack the help content file, and save the file to a local or shared folder.

  4. Open the Help Library Manager by launching SSMS or VS and clicking Manage Help Settings on the Help menu.

  5. Click Install content from disk, and browse to the folder where you unpacked the help content file.

    HelpLibraryManager_MainPage_InstallFromDisk

    HelpLibraryManager_InstallContentFromDisk_dialog1

    [!IMPORTANT] To avoid installing local help content that has only a partial table of contents, you must use the Install content from disk option in the Help Library Manager. If you used Install content from online and the Help Viewer is displaying a partial table of contents, see this blog post for troubleshooting steps.

  6. Click the HelpContentSetup.msha file, click Open, and then click Next.

  7. Click Add next to the documentation you want to install, and then click Update.

    HelpLibraryManager_InstallContentFromDisk_dialog2

  8. Click Finish, and then click Exit.

  9. To view installed help, open Help Library Manager, click Choose online or local help, and then click I want to use local help.

  10. Open the Help Viewer to see the content by clicking View Help on the Help menu. The content you installed is listed in the left pane.

HelpViewer1_withContentInstalled_ZoomedIn

Next steps

Microsoft Help Viewer - Visual Studio

[!INCLUDEget-help-options]