SDF Viewer is an intuitive application with a pretty self-explanatory name. It aims to provide a convenient method of opening, creating and editing SDF files, which are code browsing databases used by SQL Sever Compact Edition. It is fully compatible with SQL Server Compact 3.1, 3.5 and 4.0 and allows upgrading a database to a higher version.

The application can import files that are locally stored on your computer or memorized by a mobile device, such as a pocket PC or a Windows Mobile handset. The automatic scanner helps you search for SDF files locally.

Designed with ease of use in mind, SDF Viewer features an organized, tab-based GUI that displays the contents of the loaded database in a structured manner. As such, you can view the entries stored in each table, explore keys, constraints, browse indexes and edit, remove or add relationships between tables.

Additionally, it comes with editing capabilities, enabling you to alter the database composition, modify tables, remove columns and rows or add new ones, change records, modify the column properties (for instance, the maximum length, the data type etc.), as well as create new indexes and insert them alongside the existing ones. Tables can also be imported from other sources, including XML, CSV, TXT and XLS files, Access databases or SQL Server.

SDF Viewer can also be used for writing and executing SQL queries and statements against your SQLCE database, with immediate display of the result. Furthermore, it allows you to create, run and compare SQL scripts, generate schema reports or build queries using the built-in, dedicated tool.

Despite its name, SDF Viewer is not just an utility that displays the contents of a SDF database. The editing possibilities, together with the array of supported input sources makes it a reliable and worth-having tool for database administrators that work with SQL Sever Compact Edition.