SQL MDF Viewer

SQL MDF Viewer is a simple tool designed to open .mdf database files on computers that doesn't have SQL Server or other database management systems installed, even if the files have corrupt or damaged information.

It displays functions, views, rules, triggers, stored procedures and tables, in addition to keys and constraints. The program is capable of opening database files created with SQL Server 2014, 2012 and 2008.

After going through the quick setup, the application greets you in a user-friendly interface, which consists of a standard window with a neatly structured layout, where you can start by opening an .mdf-formatted file.

SQL MDF Viewer loads its contents and reveals details about the number of read pages, database name and version, along with the total tables, views, stored procedures, rules, triggers, and functions. It offers to save these statistics to a .str file, in order to speed up the task when rescanning the same item in the future.

The database contents are shown in a tree view, so you can examine tables with columns, keys and indexes, views, stored procedures, rules, triggers, and functions. Unfortunately, the utility doesn't implement options for copying, print or exporting data to file for closer inspection.

It has intuitive options for users less experienced with database utilities, who simply want to view the contents of an .mdf file without having to install complex database managers. On the other hand, it doesn't make room for customization.

Unsurprisingly, the program used low CPU and memory, so it didn't hog system resources in our tests. It remained stable throughout our evaluation. Considering that it's a free tool, SQL MDF Viewer provides a straightforward solution to opening and viewing .mdf files without putting too much effort into it.