How do you use the CREATE FULLTEXT CATALOG statement to create a new full-text catalog?
SamPetr
Posted by SamPetr
Last Updated: July 31, 2024
SQL Catalog
In SQL Server, the CREATE FULLTEXT CATALOG statement is used to create a full-text catalog, which is a storage structure that holds full-text indexes. A full-text catalog is a logical container for full-text indexes, and it can improve the performance of full-text queries by allowing SQL Server to manage them more efficiently. Here’s a basic syntax for the CREATE FULLTEXT CATALOG statement: 
CREATE FULLTEXT CATALOG catalog_name
    [ AUTHORIZATION owner_name ]
    [ WITH FORMATTED_DOCUMENTS ]
    [ AS DEFAULT ]
Components of the Syntax:
- catalog_name: The name you want to assign to your full-text catalog. - AUTHORIZATION owner_name: (Optional) Specifies the user or role that owns the full-text catalog. If omitted, the owner is the current user. - WITH FORMATTED_DOCUMENTS: (Optional) Indicates that this catalog will be used to store formatted documents. - AS DEFAULT: (Optional) indicates that this catalog should be the default for the database if no other catalog is specified in a full-text search operation.
Example:
CREATE FULLTEXT CATALOG MyFullTextCatalog
    AUTHORIZATION dbo
    WITH FORMATTED_DOCUMENTS;
Tips:
1. Permissions: To create a full-text catalog, you need the necessary permissions. Generally, you should have CREATE FULLTEXT CATALOG permission in the database. 2. Context: Before running the above statement, ensure you are connected to the correct database where you want to create the full-text catalog. 3. Updating Catalogs: After creating a full-text catalog, you can create full-text indexes on tables, which will be associated with this catalog.
After Creation:
Once the full-text catalog is created, you can create full-text indexes for your tables. Here’s an example of how to create a full-text index: 
CREATE FULLTEXT INDEX ON YourTableName(ColumnName)
    KEY INDEX YourPrimaryKeyIndexName
    WITH STOPLIST = SYSTEM;
Summary
Using the CREATE FULLTEXT CATALOG statement is an essential step when configuring full-text search capabilities in SQL Server, allowing you to efficiently manage and query large amounts of textual data.
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