📘 SODA+ AI - Concise User Guide

Essential Features in 30 Minutes

Version: 1.0 | Last Updated: December 31, 2025
Target Audience: Learning Users | Estimated Time: 30 minutes
Purpose: 80% of what you need to know

📑 Table of Contents

  1. About This Guide
  2. Getting Started (10 min)
  3. Core Analysis (15 min)
  4. Advanced Features (5 min)
  5. Quick Reference
  6. Troubleshooting
  7. What's Not Covered Here
  8. Next Steps

About This Guide

This guide covers essential SODA+ AI features in 30 minutes. It's the middle ground between:

You'll learn:

Not covered here:

For those topics, see the Full User Guide.

Getting Started (10 min)

Login & Registration

First Time Users:

  1. Launch SODA_PLUS_MAIN.exe

  2. Register tab appears:

    • Email: your.email@company.com
    • Display Name: Your Name
    • Company: (Optional)
    • Click Register

  3. Login tab:

    • Email: (pre-filled)
    • Click Login

Returning Users:

✅ Done! You're logged in with secure API key assignment.

📖 For details: See Step 0: Initial Login

Environment Selection

Choose your environment:

Environment Color When to Use
SANDBOX 🟢 Green First time, testing, learning
TEST 🟠 Orange Development databases
PROD 🔴 Red Production (⚠️ be careful!)

Recommendation: Start with SANDBOX.

✅ Selected! Environment is locked for this session.

Note: To switch environments, restart the application.

Connect Your First Server

Add SQL Server:

  1. Right-click in Server Explorer (top-left panel)
  2. Select "Add Server..."

Fill in dialog:

Server name: localhost              (or .\SQLEXPRESS)
Display Name: My Dev Server         (optional)

Authentication: ● Windows Authentication  ← Easiest

Connection Options:
  ✓ Trust server certificate
  Connection timeout: 30 seconds

[Test Connection] → Shows success/failure
[Connect] → Saves server

✅ Connected! Server appears in Server Explorer.

📖 For SQL Auth details: See Step 3: Connect to Servers

Core Analysis (15 min)

Find & Analyze Objects

Select database:

  1. Click your server in Server Explorer
  2. Click a database in Database Explorer (middle-left)
  3. Wait for Object Explorer to populate

Find an object:

Analyze:

  1. Right-click the object
  2. Select "🔍 Analyze Dependencies"

✅ Analysis opens! You now see a new analyzer tab.

Understand Dependencies

Analyzer Layout:

┌──────────────────────┬───────────────────────┐
│ LEFT PANEL (3 tabs)  │ RIGHT PANEL           │
│                      │                       │
│ ⬆️ Upstream          │ SQL Code Viewer       │
│ ⬇️ Downstream        │                       │
│ 📊 Call Order        │ (Shows code of        │
│                      │  selected object)     │
│ (Dependency trees)   │                       |
└──────────────────────┴───────────────────────┘

⬆️ Upstream Tab:

⬇️ Downstream Tab:

📊 Call Order Tab:

RIGHT PANEL (Code Viewer):

✅ Now you understand: Upstream = needs, Downstream = impact, Call Order = sequence.

📖 For deep dive: See Step 8: Review Analysis Results

Why search?

How to search:

  1. Click in search box (above Object Explorer tree)
  2. Type part of object name: Customer
  3. Results update as you type
  4. Matching objects auto-expand
  5. Non-matching objects hide

Search Examples:

Search Finds
Get All objects containing "Get"
dbo.Get Only dbo schema objects with "Get"
order Views, procedures with "order" in name

Clear search:

✅ Tip: Use search for 90% of your object navigation!

📖 For search features: See Step 6: Search for Objects

Multi-Tab Workflow

Why multiple tabs?

Open new tabs:

  1. In dependency tree, right-click a dependency
  2. Select "Analyze Dependencies"
  3. NEW TAB opens for that object
  4. Original tab stays open

Tab Features:

Feature Description
Tab Icon 📋 Procedure, 🔧 Function, 👁️ View, 📊 Table
Tab Name Short object name (hover for details)
Close (✖) Close individual tabs
Max 10 tabs System limit to prevent clutter
Independent Each tab has own state, depth, search

Switch tabs:

Close tabs:

✅ Workflow: Drill down → New tabs → Compare → Close unused tabs

📖 For tab patterns: See Step 8: Common Multi-Tab Patterns

Advanced Features (5 min)

Cross-Database Search ⭐ NEW!

Search across multiple databases simultaneously:

  1. Go to Search menu → Search Current Server

  2. Search Dialog opens with options:

    • Search scope: Current server or ALL servers
    • Search term: Enter object name (e.g., "Customer")
    • Database selection: Choose which databases to search
    • Object types: Tables, Views, Procedures, Functions
    • 🔍 Search inside code - Find references in procedure/view/function code
    • 🤖 AI Filtering - Remove irrelevant matches (commented code, dead code)

  3. Click 🔍 Search

What you get:

Search Options:

Search Mode:
| Mode | What It Does | Example ("Get") |
|------|--------------|-----------------|
| Contains (default) | Anywhere in name | GetCustomer, CustomerGetter, TargetGet |
| Exact Match | Exact name only | Get (only) |
| Starts With | Beginning of name | GetCustomer, GetOrder |
| Ends With | End of name | CustomerGet, OrderGet |

Match Locations:
| Option | Searches | Speed |
|--------|----------|-------|
| Object Names | Table/view/procedure names | ⚡ Fast (~2 sec) |
| Code Definitions | Inside SQL code | 🐢 Slower (~10-20 sec) |
| Column Names | Table column names | ⚡ Fast (~3-5 sec) |

AI-Powered Filtering ⭐ NEW!

When enabled (requires API key + code search):

Example: Search for "Customer" with AI filtering

Before AI:  100 results (includes comments, old code)
After AI:   65 results (only active references)
Removed:    35 false positives

Performance:

Multi-Server Search:

✅ Use search for: Finding objects by name OR content, impact analysis, code audits, GDPR compliance

📖 For complete guide: See Cross-Database Search Guide

Quick Charting

Generate visual dependency diagram:

  1. Right-click Procedure/Function/View
  2. Select 📊 Chart Analysis → Quick Chart
  3. Chart window opens with Mermaid diagram

Chart Window Features: ⭐ UPDATED!

Toolbar Controls:

Dependency Direction Options: ⭐ NEW!

File Menu (📁 dropdown): ⭐ NEW!

Output Menu (🖼️ dropdown): ⭐ NEW!

What you get:

✅ Use charts for: Documentation, presentations, code reviews, impact analysis

📖 For all chart types: See Step 10: Dependency Charting

AI Analysis Basics

Get AI-powered code insights:

  1. Right-click Procedure/Function
  2. Select 🤖 AI Analysis → Summary
  3. AI Review window opens

AI Review Window has 3 tabs:

Tab Use
📤 Sent Prompt See what was sent to AI
🤖 AI Response Plain text analysis
✨ Formatted View HTML rendering with syntax highlighting

Recommended: Use Formatted View tab for reading - much easier!

AI Analysis Types:

Type Best For
Summary Quick overview
Low Hanging Improvements Easy quick wins
Security Analysis Find vulnerabilities
Performance Analysis Optimize speed

✅ Start with: Summary analysis to understand code quality

📖 For all AI types: See Step 11: AI Analysis Types

Export Dependencies

Export analysis results:

  1. In analyzer tab, click 💾 Export button (toolbar)
  2. Choose format:
    • CSV - Excel analysis
    • JSON - API integration
    • Markdown - GitHub/Confluence
    • Text - Email/reports
  3. Save file to disk

Exports include:

✅ Use exports for: Impact documentation, reports, version control

📖 For export formats: See Step 8b: Export Button

Quick Reference

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut Action
F1 Toggle Server Explorer
F2 Toggle Database Explorer
F3 Toggle Object Explorer
Ctrl+Tab Cycle through analyzer tabs
Escape Clear object search
Alt+F4 Close application

Common Tasks

Add Server:
→ Right-click Server Explorer → Add Server...

Search for Object:
→ Type in search box above Object Explorer

Cross-Database Search: ⭐ NEW!
→ Search menu → Search Current Server → Enter term → Search

Analyze Dependencies:
→ Right-click object → Analyze Dependencies

Generate Chart:
→ Right-click object → Chart Analysis → Quick Chart

Select Chart Direction: ⭐ NEW!
→ Chart Window → Direction dropdown → Downstream or Upstream

Save Chart: ⭐ NEW!
→ Chart Window → File menu → Save Mermaid (.mmd)

Load Saved Chart: ⭐ NEW!
→ Chart Window → File menu → Load Mermaid (.mmd)

Render Chart to SVG: ⭐ NEW!
→ Chart Window → Output menu → Render to SVG

Save SVG File: ⭐ NEW!
→ Chart Window → Output menu → Save SVG As...

Configure SQL Formatting: ⭐ NEW!
→ Tools menu → SQL Formatting Preferences → Adjust settings → Save

Get AI Suggestions:
→ Right-click procedure → AI Analysis → Summary

Export Dependencies:
→ Click Export button (💾) → Choose format

Open Full Window:
→ Click Full Window button (📺)

Close Tab:
→ Click ✖ on tab header

Switch Tabs:
→ Click tab or Ctrl+Tab

View Code:
→ Click dependency in tree → Right panel updates

Top 5 Tips

  1. 🔍 Use Search Always

    • Don't browse manually
    • Search finds instantly
    • Works across all object types

  2. 📑 Embrace Multi-Tabs

    • Open related objects in new tabs
    • Compare side-by-side
    • Close unused tabs to stay organized

  3. ⬇️ Check Downstream First

    • Before changing any object
    • See impact analysis
    • Prevent breaking dependencies

  4. 📊 Quick Chart for Quick Understanding

    • Generate charts in < 1 second
    • Choose Direction (Downstream or Upstream) for focused view ⭐ NEW!
    • Visual > text for dependencies
    • Use File menu to save/load charts ⭐ NEW!
    • Export for documentation via Output menu ⭐ NEW!

  5. 🚀 Start in SANDBOX

    • Safe environment for learning
    • No risk to production
    • Experiment freely

  6. 💎 Customize SQL Formatting ⭐ NEW!

    • Tools menu → SQL Formatting Preferences
    • Set indentation (2, 4, 8 spaces)
    • Choose keyword casing (UPPERCASE, lowercase, PascalCase)
    • 20 formatting options available
    • Settings saved to cloud
    • Two format modes: Clean (fast, strips comments) or AI (preserves comments, slower)
    • Format button uses your preferences

Troubleshooting

Can't connect to SQL Server

Problem: "Cannot connect to server" error

Solutions:

No objects showing

Problem: Object Explorer is empty

Solutions:

Search not finding objects

Problem: Search returns "No objects found"

Solutions:

Tabs not opening

Problem: Right-click → Analyze doesn't open tab

Solutions:

AI Analysis unavailable

Problem: AI Analysis menu is grayed out

Solutions:

Cross-database search returns no results ⭐ NEW!

Problem: Search finds nothing

Solutions:

Multi-server search shows errors ⭐ NEW!

Problem: Some servers fail during search

Solutions:

📖 For more errors: See Full Guide: Help and Support

What's Not Covered Here

This concise guide does not cover:

Advanced AI Features:

Advanced Workflows:

Deep Troubleshooting:

Alternative Methods:

For these topics, see:

Next Steps

You've Completed the Concise Guide!

You can now:

Continue Learning:

Practice These Workflows:

  1. Cross-Database Search Workflow (10 min) ⭐ NEW!

    • Go to Search menu → Search Current Server
    • Search for "Customer" across all databases
    • Try "Search inside code" option
    • Enable AI filtering to remove noise
    • Export results for documentation
    • Use for finding all references to a table/procedure

  2. Impact Analysis Workflow (10 min)

    • Find a table (e.g., dbo.Customers)
    • Analyze dependencies
    • Check Downstream tab
    • See what procedures/views use it
    • Use this before schema changes

  3. Dependency Chain Workflow (15 min)

    • Find a procedure
    • Analyze dependencies
    • Check Upstream tab
    • Right-click a dependency → Analyze
    • New tab opens
    • Continue drilling down
    • Switch between tabs to see full chain

  4. Documentation Workflow (10 min)

    • Analyze a complex procedure
    • Generate Quick Chart
    • Select Direction: Choose Downstream or Upstream ⭐ NEW!
    • Use File menu → Save Mermaid (.mmd) ⭐ NEW!
    • Use Output menu → Render to SVG ⭐ NEW!
    • Export dependencies as Markdown
    • Save both chart (.svg) and export (.md)
    • Use for code review or wiki

Explore Advanced Features:

When you're comfortable, try:

Multi-Server Search (10-15 min) ⭐ NEW!

AI-Enhanced Charting (5-10 min)

Deep AI Analysis (15-20 min)

Full Window Mode (5 min)

Performance Analysis (10-15 min)

Read Full Documentation:

📖 Full User Guide (2-3 hours)

🔍 Reference Guide (Quick Lookup)

🚀 Quick Start Guide (5 min)

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End of Concise User Guide | Version: 1.0 | Last Updated: December 31, 2025
Completed? 🎉 You now know 80% of SODA+ AI essentials!
Next: Explore advanced features or read Full User Guide

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