Doesn't this mean that Excel has to be installed on the server?

If not then wouldn't it be better to break out the task so that one task writes the Excel...

Regardless of whether you have used sp_detach_db you can attach the MDF and LDF files.

As ever, backup your MASTER database on your target server before and after the attach.

You will...

If you have a compound index on cols A,B,C and your where clause contains ColA then it will use the index.

If your where clause doesn't contain A then it won't

See my article on RAISERROR. It may help

You could use the sp_OACreate, sp_OAMethod and sp_OAProperty stored procedures to access the Excel object model however I wouldn't recommend it.

Excel does not seem to have the concept of a...

As an aside I read an article quoting Steve Jobs on the subject of cars.

He was lamenting that the gorgeous concepts you see at a motor show rarely translate into...

Provided it precedes the tranformation into your txt/xls object it doesn't matter though personally I make it the first task in the DTS.

I actually agree with most of the things you say, possibly with the exception of the separating out toilet paper from sewage.

When ever I see a badly designed database supplied...

In SQL2000 ROWCOUNT affects all actions, TOP only affects SELECT

In SQL2005 TOP can be used with UPDATEs etc.

Joe Celko has warned me that TOP is not valid ANSI SQL and...

Drag the ActiveX Script task onto your design pane then double-click it.

Copy and paste the code from the post into the resulting code panel and save it.

Select the ActiveX task...

I'm not talking about the infestation known to MS Access programmers as cascading.

I have inherrited a database whose lookup tables would give DCPeterson apoplexy. The design was done by...

In general I agree with this article but there is one massive BUT that has been overlooked here and that is performance.

I have a database where the design of the...

I have a similar requirement for a date changed Excel file. There are several ways of doing it but I put an ActiveX task as the first step...

Because of the limitations of the FTP task I resorted to using a Windows CMD file to execute the FTP commands I needed and called these using an Execute Process...

The idea is that you get a performance boost however in most small to medium installations the extra administrative hassle just isn't worth it.

The theory is that searching an index...