Using sp_MSforeachdb to Search for Objects Across All Databases

You are working on a project that requires migrating legacy stuffs from old environment to a new one, and requirement says upgrade business logic to latest. Unfortunately, not enough and clearly documents for you to refer. You did not even know an object where it is since there are so many databases resident in the same server, so many tables, so many views, stored procedure, user defined functions… etc. It is hard to find out the legacy business logics.

sp_MSforeachdb

The sp_MSforeachdb procedure is an undocumented procedure that allows you to run the same command against all databases. There are several ways to get creative with using this command and we will cover these in the examples below. This can be used to select data, update data and even create database objects. You can use the sp_MSforeachdb stored procedure to search for objects by their name across all databases:

EXEC sp_MSforeachdb
'USE [?];
SELECT ''?'' AS DatabaseName, name AS ObjectName
, type_desc AS ObjectType
, Type_desc as object_Desc
, Create_date
, Modify_date
FROM sys.objects
WHERE name = ''YourObjectName'';';

Replace ‘YourObjectName’ with the actual name of the object you’re searching for (table, view, stored procedure, etc.).

The type_desc column will tell you the type of the object (e.g., USER_TABLE, VIEW, SQL_STORED_PROCEDURE, etc.).

For example, find out the “tb” prefix objects

EXEC sp_MSforeachdb
'USE [?];
SELECT ''?'' AS DatabaseName
, name AS objectName
, type_desc as object_Desc
, create_date, Modify_date
FROM sys.objects
WHERE name like ''tb%'';'
go

Alternative – Loop Through Databases Using a Cursor

If sp_MSforeachdb is not available, you can use a cursor to loop through each database and search for the object:

DECLARE @DBName NVARCHAR(255);
DECLARE @SQL NVARCHAR(MAX);

DECLARE DB_Cursor CURSOR FOR
SELECT name
FROM sys.databases
WHERE state = 0;  -- Only look in online databases

OPEN DB_Cursor;
FETCH NEXT FROM DB_Cursor INTO @DBName;

WHILE @@FETCH_STATUS = 0
BEGIN
    SET @SQL = 
    'USE [' + @DBName + ']; 
     IF EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM sys.objects WHERE name = ''YourObjectName'')
     BEGIN
         SELECT ''' + @DBName + ''' AS DatabaseName, name AS ObjectName, type_desc AS ObjectType
         FROM sys.objects
         WHERE name = ''YourObjectName'';
     END';

    EXEC sp_executesql @SQL;

    FETCH NEXT FROM DB_Cursor INTO @DBName;
END;

CLOSE DB_Cursor;
DEALLOCATE DB_Cursor;

You can modify the query to search for specific object types, such as tables or stored procedures:

Find the table

You can use the sp_MSforeachdb system stored procedure to search for the table across all databases.

EXEC sp_MSforeachdb 
'USE [?]; 
 SELECT ''?'' AS DatabaseName, name AS TableName 
 FROM sys.tables 
 WHERE name = ''YourTableName'';';

If sp_MSforeachdb is not enabled or available, you can use a cursor to loop through all databases and search for the table:

DECLARE @DBName NVARCHAR(255);
DECLARE @SQL NVARCHAR(MAX);

DECLARE DB_Cursor CURSOR FOR
SELECT name
FROM sys.databases
WHERE state = 0;  -- Only look in online databases

OPEN DB_Cursor;
FETCH NEXT FROM DB_Cursor INTO @DBName;

WHILE @@FETCH_STATUS = 0
BEGIN
    SET @SQL = 
    'USE [' + @DBName + ']; 
     IF EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM sys.tables WHERE name = ''YourTableName'')
     BEGIN
         SELECT ''' + @DBName + ''' AS DatabaseName, name AS TableName
         FROM sys.tables
         WHERE name = ''YourTableName'';
     END';

    EXEC sp_executesql @SQL;

    FETCH NEXT FROM DB_Cursor INTO @DBName;
END;

CLOSE DB_Cursor;
DEALLOCATE DB_Cursor;

Find the View

You can use the sp_MSforeachdb system stored procedure to search for the view across all databases.

EXEC sp_MSforeachdb 
'USE [?]; 
 SELECT ''?'' AS DatabaseName, name AS TableName 
 FROM sys.views
 WHERE name = ''YourTableName'';';

Find the Stored Procedure

EXEC sp_MSforeachdb 
'USE [?]; 
 SELECT ''?'' AS DatabaseName, name AS ProcedureName 
 FROM sys.procedures 
 WHERE name = ''YourProcedureName'';';

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions at William . chen @ mainri.ca

(remove all space from the email account 😊)