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In Visual Studio 2013 there is no longer an option to create .sdf SQL Server Compact databases in WebPages (WebMatrix) websites. I am no longer able to view .sdf database files in Visual Studio either. I downloaded the latest version of WebMatrix to open my .sdf database but WebMatrix crashes when I open my website. When I create a new empty site and add existing files, it crashes.
I searched for days for a way to view and edit my .sdf database and nothing is working. I can no longer get Navicat SQL Server app to open a database. I cannot get LinqPad to open an .sdf database file, I cannot get Compact Viewer to open or edit .sdf databases. I can open .sdf databases with SqlCEToolbox40.exe but it only shows top 200 rows and it won't let me edit the tables.
Now I'm completely stumped. How do I view and edit a .sdf database file?
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An SDF file contains a compact relational database saved in the SQL Server Compact (SQL CE) format, which is developed by Microsoft. It is designed for applications that run on mobile devices and desktops and contains the complete database contents, which may be up to 4GB in size.
The Spatial Data File (SDF) is a single-user geodatabase file format developed by Autodesk. The file format is the native spatial data storage format for Autodesk GIS programs MapGuide and AutoCAD Map 3D.
You can use Visual Studio to create and update a local database file in SQL Server Express LocalDB. You can also create a database by executing Transact-SQL statements in the SQL Server Object Explorer tool window in Visual Studio.
Visual Studio installs SQL Server Express LocalDB on your machine as part of the Data storage and processing workload. This LocalDB instance is useful for developing data-connected applications quickly and easily.
The answer is yes: Microsoft is silently dropping support (as usual IMHO) to Sql Compact Edition.
It started abandoning Sql CE 3.5 in Vs2012 It continued dropping Sql CE in Sql Management Studio 2012 and finally in VS2013
You can use CompactView or install SQL Server Compact Toolbox extension in VS2013 or (my prefered solution) use Sql management Studio 2008
UPDATE thanks to Nicolas' comment
As stated by Microsoft:
SQL Server compact edition is in deprecation mode with no new releases planned near future. Last release SQL CE 4.0SP1 (and earlier releases that are still in the support cycle) will continue to be supported through its lifecycle and Microsoft is committed to fix any major, production blocking issues found in these releases.
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