View data of .mdf file within visual studio

Question

I have a simple problem but have searched all across google and SO to no avail.

I have a .mdf file that has 3 tables, I am working with this file in ASP.NET WebForms e.g updating, adding data etc... I want to be able to view the contents of the .mdf file in Visual Studio to make sure that the queries (written in C#) are working correctly.

At the moment I am doing this by opening the file in SQL Server 2014 but that way I have to close visual studio as the file can only be used on instance.

I know this can be achieved by connecting to a server but this is and .mdf file.

Any suggestions?

Solution

Go to View > SQL Server Object Explorer right click the SQL Server node and select Add SQL server.

But be aware. If you are developing a program that uses this connection to, then the application might throw an exception saying that you can connect to the database only once.