How to: Rename Indexes

New indexes are automatically given system-defined names based on the database table name. If you create multiple indexes on a table, the index names are appended with "_1," "_2," and so on. You can rename an index as long as index names are unique within the table.

Note

When you create a primary key or unique constraint for a table, an index with the same name as the constraint is automatically created for the table. Because index names must be unique for a table, you cannot create or rename an index to have the same name as the primary key or unique constraint for the table.

Note

The dialog boxes and menu commands you see might differ from those described in Help depending on your active settings or edition. To change your settings, choose Import and Export Settings on the Tools menu. For more information, see Visual Studio Settings.

To rename an index

  1. In Server Explorer, select the table with the index you want to rename.

  2. From the Database menu, click Open Table Definition.

  3. From the Table Designer menu, click Indexes/Keys.

  4. Select the index from the Selected Primary/Unique Key or Index list.

  5. In the grid, click Name and type a new name into the text box.

    Your changes are saved to the database when you save the table.

See Also

Other Resources

Working with Indexes