Connecting to a LocalDb instance from Visual Studio
Visual Studio allows you to connect to a database server through the “Server Explorer” tab. However, I always forget how to connect to the LocalDb instance when I’m just prototyping in ASP.NET MVC. Here’s a small reminder.
Open the Server Explorer Tab
From within Visual Studio, click View -> Server Explorer or just Ctrl-Alt-s
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Pull up the add new connection modal
Click the little plug with a plus next to it to bring up the Add Connection modal
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Connect
The server name drop down doesn’t usually display your local db instance, so typing is your best option. Put the following into your Server name text box:
(LocalDb)\V11.0
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Then choose your database and click Ok.
An elephant never forgets
This is annoying to remember, so take a quick glance at your web.config file and simply copy the (LocalDb)\V11.0 from your connectionString.