How to find which views are using a certain table

Question

I have to add a few columns to a table and I also need to add these columns to all the views that use this table.

Is it possible to get a list of all the views in a database that use a certain table?

Answer 1

select your table -> view dependencies -> Objects that depend on

Answer 2

To find table dependencies you can use the sys.sql_expression_dependencies catalog view:

SELECT 
referencing_object_name = o.name, 
referencing_object_type_desc = o.type_desc, 
referenced_object_name = referenced_entity_name, 
referenced_object_type_desc =so1.type_desc 
FROM sys.sql_expression_dependencies sed 
INNER JOIN sys.views o ON sed.referencing_id = o.object_id 
LEFT OUTER JOIN sys.views so1 ON sed.referenced_id =so1.object_id 
WHERE referenced_entity_name = 'Person'  

You can also try out ApexSQL Search a free SSMS and VS add-in that also has the View Dependencies feature. The View Dependencies feature has the ability to visualize all SQL database objects’ relationships, including those between encrypted and system objects, SQL server 2012 specific objects, and objects stored in databases encrypted with Transparent Data Encryption (TDE)

Disclaimer: I work for ApexSQL as a Support Engineer

Answer 3

If you need to find database objects (e.g. tables, columns, triggers) by name - have a look at the FREE Red-Gate tool called SQL Search which does this - it searches your entire database for any kind of string(s).

It's a great must-have tool for any DBA or database developer - did I already mention it's absolutely FREE to use for any kind of use??

Answer 4

SELECT VIEW_NAME
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.VIEW_TABLE_USAGE
WHERE TABLE_NAME = 'Your Table'

Answer 5

This should do it:

SELECT * 
FROM   INFORMATION_SCHEMA.VIEWS 
WHERE  VIEW_DEFINITION like '%YourTableName%'

Answer 6

I find this works better:

SELECT type, *
FROM sys.objects
WHERE OBJECT_DEFINITION(object_id) LIKE '%' + @ObjectName + '%'
AND type IN ('V')
ORDER BY name

Filtering VIEW_DEFINTION inside INFORMATION_SCHEMA.VIEWS is giving me quite a few false positives.