SQL Express - How do I view SQL Server Log Files

28 Sep 2007 3:19 PM

TG

It seems the Log File Viewer is not included with SQL Express w/Advanced
Services, or at least I have not found how to view the log files using
anything other than Notepad. I'm having a hard time believing they didn't
include a way for users/dba to view the log files except the hard way.

Does anyone know what I'm missing or have suggestions?

Thank you.

28 Sep 2007 5:58 PM

Andrew J. Kelly

Even the enterprise edition does not include a tool to do that. There are
some 3rd party tools available but if you give more details on exactly what
you are trying to accomplish we can give a more direct answer.

--
Andrew J. Kelly SQL MVP
Solid Quality Mentors

Show quote

"TG" <T*@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:4F2C46FE-F35F-4DB1-9D38-6F26E82A66E4@microsoft.com...
> It seems the Log File Viewer is not included with SQL Express w/Advanced
> Services, or at least I have not found how to view the log files using
> anything other than Notepad. I'm having a hard time believing they didn't
> include a way for users/dba to view the log files except the hard way.
>
> Does anyone know what I'm missing or have suggestions?
>
> Thank you.

28 Sep 2007 7:10 PM

Terry Garber

You are misunderstanding my issue. I am not concerned about the database log
files. I am concerned about the database engine logs (Management Studio |
Management | SQL Server Logs).

Show quote

"Andrew J. Kelly" wrote:

> Even the enterprise edition does not include a tool to do that. There are
> some 3rd party tools available but if you give more details on exactly what
> you are trying to accomplish we can give a more direct answer.
>
> --
> Andrew J. Kelly SQL MVP
> Solid Quality Mentors
>
>
> "TG" <T*@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:4F2C46FE-F35F-4DB1-9D38-6F26E82A66E4@microsoft.com...
> > It seems the Log File Viewer is not included with SQL Express w/Advanced
> > Services, or at least I have not found how to view the log files using
> > anything other than Notepad. I'm having a hard time believing they didn't
> > include a way for users/dba to view the log files except the hard way.
> >
> > Does anyone know what I'm missing or have suggestions?
> >
> > Thank you.
>
>

28 Sep 2007 8:45 PM

Andrew J. Kelly

You should be more explicit when talking about logs in SQL Server. To most
that implies the Transaction logs. In any case I don't have a copy of SSMS
Express but I find it hard to believe this is not included. Is there not a
section under "Management" for "SQL Server Logs"? If so then you should be
able to double click any of the logs and get the viewer. If not I would file
a suggestion in Connect to have this added.

--
Andrew J. Kelly SQL MVP
Solid Quality Mentors

Show quote

"Terry Garber" <TerryGar***@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:D722DCB2-7C5D-44C4-8BBC-0B192D2DE01C@microsoft.com...
> You are misunderstanding my issue. I am not concerned about the database
> log
> files. I am concerned about the database engine logs (Management Studio |
> Management | SQL Server Logs).
>
> "Andrew J. Kelly" wrote:
>
>> Even the enterprise edition does not include a tool to do that. There are
>> some 3rd party tools available but if you give more details on exactly
>> what
>> you are trying to accomplish we can give a more direct answer.
>>
>> --
>> Andrew J. Kelly SQL MVP
>> Solid Quality Mentors
>>
>>
>> "TG" <T*@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:4F2C46FE-F35F-4DB1-9D38-6F26E82A66E4@microsoft.com...
>> > It seems the Log File Viewer is not included with SQL Express
>> > w/Advanced
>> > Services, or at least I have not found how to view the log files using
>> > anything other than Notepad. I'm having a hard time believing they
>> > didn't
>> > include a way for users/dba to view the log files except the hard way.
>> >
>> > Does anyone know what I'm missing or have suggestions?
>> >
>> > Thank you.
>>
>>

1 Oct 2007 12:37 PM

Andrea Montanari

hi Andrew,
Andrew J. Kelly wrote:

> You should be more explicit when talking about logs in SQL Server. To
> most that implies the Transaction logs. In any case I don't have a
> copy of SSMS Express but I find it hard to believe this is not
> included. Is there not a section under "Management" for "SQL Server
> Logs"? If so then you should be able to double click any of the logs
> and get the viewer. If not I would file a suggestion in Connect to
> have this added.

the feature is not available in SSMSE.. you have to open them with Notepad..

--
Andrea Montanari (Microsoft MVP - SQL Server)
http://www.asql.biz http://italy.mvps.org
DbaMgr2k ver 0.21.0 - DbaMgr ver 0.65.0 and further SQL Tools
--------- remove DMO to reply

28 Sep 2007 10:04 PM

Erland Sommarskog

TG (T*@discussions.microsoft.com) writes:

> It seems the Log File Viewer is not included with SQL Express w/Advanced
> Services, or at least I have not found how to view the log files using
> anything other than Notepad. I'm having a hard time believing they didn't
> include a way for users/dba to view the log files except the hard way.

Indeed, in Mgmt Studio Express you see a list of the logs, but you cannot
view the logs themselves.

Personally, I much prefer to access the SQL Server error log directly
than looking at it through a GUI. The log of a server that has been running
for a long while can be huge, and I don't want to wait for to load.

And a good editor like Textpad will show the log in Courier or some other
fixed fonts, while SSMS displays it in MS Sans Serif, which does not make
things any easier.

--
Erland Sommarskog, SQL Server MVP, esq***@sommarskog.se

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