How to: Create a Trigger

You can write triggers in Transact-SQL for Microsoft SQL Server databases or PL/SQL for Oracle databases. You create a trigger by specifying:

• The current table or view (in the case of INSTEAD OF triggers).

• The data modification transactions that activate the trigger; adding new data (INSERT), updating existing data (UPDATE), or deleting existing data (DELETE).

• The actions that the trigger will take immediately following the transactions you specify.

Note

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To create a trigger

1. In Server Explorer, expand the Tables folder.

2. Right-click the name of the table or view that you want to create a trigger on.

3. Choose Add New Trigger on the shortcut menu.

   A new trigger is created in the source code editor with skeleton SQL statements:

   CREATE TRIGGER authors_Trigger1
   ON dbo.authors
   FOR /* INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE */
   AS
      /* IF UPDATE (column_name) . . .*/
   

   -or-

   CREATE TRIGGER titleview_Trigger1
   ON dbo.titleview
   INSTEAD OF /* INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE */
   AS
      /* IF UPDATE (column_name) . . .*/
   

4. Modify the default trigger text as follows:

   Replace	With
   authors_Trigger1	The name you want to assign to the trigger
   /*INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE */	The type of actions that will activate this trigger
   /*IF UPDATE (column_name) . . .*/	The transactions that will take place

5. Write the remaining trigger text in SQL.

See Also

Other Resources

Working with Triggers