Full text indexing question

All,

I am using the standard edition of SQL Server 2005.

I have a table I want to put a full text index on but it is greyed out. What are the reasons why it would be greyed out?

Thx

jonp

Jonp,
Assuming you're using the standard edition of SQL Server 2005 RTM and that the SQL Server FullText Search (msftesql.exe) service is installed and running, there should be no reasong for the "defining full text index" content menu item to be grayed out.

Could you post the full output of @.@.version from the server where this problem exists as well as confirm that the SQL Server FullText Search (msftesql.exe) service is installed and running on this server?

Thanks,
John
SQL 2005 Full Text Search Blog
http://spaces.msn.com/members/jtkane/|||

I verified it was running on the box.

I had to do the following :

USE customer

EXEC sp_fulltext_database 'enable'

After that all seems to work. Any reason why it wouldnt be enabled initially?

|||Cool...
Is it possible that your database 'customer' was in 80 compatability mode? Could you check that via the following SQL code?

EXEC sp_dbcmptlevel 'customer'
-- should return: The current compatibility level is 90.

Thanks,
John
SQL 2005 Full Text Search Blog
http://spaces.msn.com/members/jtkane/

|||

It is 90. Does that just mean that I am using SQL Server 2005?

I assume 80 would be SQL Server 2000, right?

|||Yes, it does or specificlly, it means that the database 'customer' is in '90' or the default SQL Server 2005 database compatibility mode. If it had returned '80', that would indicate that the 'customer' database on your SQL Server 2005 server was in '80' or SQL Server 2000 compatibility mode.

However, SQL Server 2005 compatiblity mode (90) databases are FT-enabled by default and using sp_fulltext_database to FT-enable should not be necessary, unless at sometime in the past this database was specificly disabled via sp_fulltext_database. I'm not sure if you can confirm that, however, if you use standard create database scripts that may do this, please review them.

Thanks,
John|||

Not quite John. Databases created using create database have full text enabled by default. However databases created through management studio you have to explictly check the full text box to enable full text.

I raised this and got a half hearted response. Basically the default setting in management studio is the opposite of that stated in BOL.

http://lab.msdn.microsoft.com/productfeedback/viewfeedback.aspx?feedbackid=24d1edf0-3e4c-4bac-bc6e-51b143ca5322

To correct the issue, go to the database properties and on the files section check the full tec check box.