column-element-for-index-dta.md

title	Column Element for Index (DTA)
description	In the dta utility, the Column element for Index specifies the columns on which the index is created for a user-specified configuration.
author	rwestMSFT
ms.author	randolphwest
ms.date	03/09/2017
ms.service	sql
ms.subservice	tools-other
ms.topic	reference
ms.collection	data-tools
helpviewer_keywords	Column element
dev_langs	XML

Column Element for Index (DTA)

[!INCLUDE SQL Server]

Specifies the columns on which the index is created for a user-specified configuration.

Syntax

  
<Create>  
  <Index>  
    <Name>...</Name>  
    <Column [Type | SortOrder]>  
     ...code removed here...  
     </Column>  

Element Attributes

Type: Optional. Specifies the index column type. Use a string data type to specify this attribute with one of the following allowed values:

• KeyColumn

  Specifies that the column is referenced by an index key. Use the following syntax to set this attribute:

  <Column Type="KeyColumn">  
  

  For more information about key columns, see Clustered and Nonclustered Indexes Described.

• IncludedColumn

  Specifies that the column is an included column (instead of a key column). Use the following syntax to set this attribute:

  <Column Type="IncludedColumn">  
  

  For more information about included columns, see Create Indexes with Included Columns.

SortOrder: Optional. Specifies the sorting order of the column. Use a string data type to specify either an "Ascending" or "Descending" sorting order as follows:

<Column SortOrder="Ascending">  

Element Characteristics

Characteristic	Description
Data type and length	None.
Default value	None.
Occurrence	Can specify up to 1024 columns for the Index element.

Element Relationships

Relationship	Elements
Parent element	Index Element (DTA)
Child elements	Name Element for Column (DTA)

Example

For a usage example of this element, see the XML Input File Sample with User-specified Configuration (DTA).

See Also

XML Input File Reference (Database Engine Tuning Advisor)