Here are 4 free SDF viewer software to view and edit SDF database files. These software let you view a SDF database file by exploring all the tables and other data in it. You can see the whole database and run SQL commands if you want. Some of these software only let you view these files, but some of them also let you edit them. You can manipulate database file either by running SQL commands or directly editing the values. Also, you will find some of these software to be intelligent as they can show you SQL queries, corresponding to the operations you perform.
SDF is quite a common database that .Net applications use and it is created by Visual Studio or SQL Server. But, if you have SDF file but not Visual Studio or SQL Server on PC, then you can install any of these software to open that file. You can take what you want or if you just want to analyze it then you can do it. Some of these software are meant to work with other databases like MySQL, MSSQL, Firebird, etc., while some of them are only able to view and edit SDF database files.
4 Free SDF Viewer Software to View and Edit SDF Database Files:
Database .NET
Database .NET is a SDF viewer software for Windows to view and edit SDF files. Basically, you can think of this software as a client to many databases, including SDF. You can use a SDF file and connect to it with the help of this software. After that, it will show you all the tables with the data to you. You can run SQL queries to view data as you want. And not only that, it also allows you to edit the data in a SDF file. The software works fine when it comes to editing and viewing SDF files. However, the software is free for non-commercial use only, so you will find some of its features to be missing in free version, like exporting to CSV.
To view a SDF database file using this software is very simple. Just open the software and make a connection to the SDF file. For this click on Connect > SQLCe > Open and then specify the location of the SDF file and it will open that file for you. You will see the tables on the left side of the software and you can open any of them to see the data. Also, if you want to edit those tables, then you can open them in edit mode. For this right-click on any table name and then click on “Edit”. The table will open in the editor and you can double-click on any cell to edit it. This way you can use this software to view and manage SDF database files.
SQL Compact Query Analyzer
SQL Compact Query Analyzer is a free SDF viewer software for Windows. The software is basically meant for analyzing the SQL queries on compact SQL databases and SDF is one of them. This software lets you open a SDF file and lets you run SQL queries and you can analyze the behavior of the SQL commands. Also, you can use this tool to browse the whole database, its tables, and data in them. Not only browse, but it also allows you to edit the data in the tables. And when you open a SDF file in it, you get to see some of the stats of the database as well. It can show you whether the database is protected or you can see the version, creation date, file size, schema summary like details.
To view and analyze a SDF in SQL Compact Query Analyzer, you just have to open a SDF file. After that, it will show you the tables and other database properties on its interface. You can further expand the table nodes to see extra information about it. Click on any table name and that table will open in the editor of the software. After that, you can view, analyze the data, and you can even edit it if you want. You can save changes in the database.
Compact View
Compact View is another free and open source SDF viewer software that you can use. It allows you to open SDF file in read only and editing mode. In both modes, you can browse the whole database and if you have opened it in edit mode, then you can also edit and run SQL commands to manipulate database tables and values. The software is quite handy to use and handles the SDF database files pretty easily. However, to make it work it requires Microsoft SQL Server Compact 4.0 to be installed on your PC, so you can download it from here and install it. Don’t worry its just 2-3 MB in size and won’t consume much of your time.
It’s quite simple to open, view, and edit SDF file using this free software, Compact View. Open the software and open the SDF database file you wish to see in it. And before opening it, you can specify whether you want to open the database in read only mode or in edit mode. After it opens your database, you can browse it and do whatever you want. There is a SQL editor given in the software that you can use to manage the database tables and data in them.
SdfBrowser
SdfBrowser is yet another free SDF viewer software which you can use to view SDF file. It is a lightweight software which can easily open a SDF file and lets you manipulate it. Though, it doesn’t support direct editing of tables, but you can do that with the help of SQL commands. The SQL editor of the software is quite powerful and supports auto complete and syntax highlighting. After opening the database in it, you will see all the tables in it with an option to export them to a CSV file.
After installing the software, open the target SDF database file in it. And when it opens, you can see the tables present in the database on the top left side of the software. Select any table and it will show you the corresponding data in it. You can also run SQL commands to see data from the tables in any way you want. The software prevents you from direct editing of data, but you can use “update” command to manipulate table data. If you want, you can export the current opened table to a CSV file. For that, use the Export option in the File menu.
Final Thoughts
These are some of the best free SDF viewer software which I have found so far. Using all of these software, you can easily connect to a SDF file and perform various database operations. All of these software allow you to view and edit data in the tables. Also, in some of these software, you can export a database table to CSV. Using these software you will not have to set up Visual Studio or SQL Server (which are quite tricky to set up) on your PC. So, if you are looking for some decent SDF viewer software for Windows, then this list will come in handy. Personally, I like SQL Compact Query Analyzer and Compact View to be the best SDF viewer software, you can tell me which one you like in comments.
