How can I get the Design mode of a table without going through “Object explorer”?

Question

I'm trying to use SQL Server Management Studio to edit database tables. But I can't seem to access the databases themselves through "Object explorer" (SQL Server Management Studio 2012 hangs).

How can I get the Design mode of a table without going through that?

Answer 1

Use the command line:

For instance, if your username is bobby and your password is foo, use:

C:> sqlcmd -U bobby -P foo

Then select your database with use whatever_your_db_name_is # Note you do literally type use

then describe [table_name]

To list all tables: sp_help works and you can also use
select * from SYSOBJECTS where TYPE = 'U' order by NAME
which you can obviously change to meet your needs.

Answer 2

It looks it's not possible to open from TSQL any new tab in design mode for a table or view, the only way to do it is through the object explorer:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/ssms/visual-db-tools/open-the-query-and-view-designer-visual-database-tools