If you have a colleague who trusts you, you could always betray this trust by sending them a workbook which misbehaves: it won't close and you can't leave it!

This blog teaches you how to modify existing data in your database by either deleting records or updating them.

You can use BEGIN TRY to trap errors from SQL Server 2005 onwards, and also raise your own errors using RAISERROR or THROW - this blog explains all!

For the sake of completeness, this blog explains how to join to the results of table-valued functions (like a correlated subquery on steroids).

This blog teaches you how to return values from your SQL stored procedures using two different techniques: return codes, and output parameters.

If you're using shared datasets to populate subreports in Reporting Services you might have encountered an error when you preview your reports. This short blog explains what the problem is and offers a few simple suggestions to work around the issue.

Dynamic SQL is a technique for building valid SQL statements from separate pieces of text. You can use this technique to create remarkably flexible and useful queries, as long as you're aware of the potential danger of SQL injection attacks.

A quick blog on how to change the scope of any variable in SQL Server Integration Services 2012.

A short blog explaining why you might have problems connecting to an Excel workbook from SSIS.

A derived table is a technique for creating a temporary set of records which can be used within another query in SQL. You can use derived tables to shorten long queries, or even just to break a complex process into logical steps.

How to store the name of each file in a folder in a SQL Server table using an Integration Services package.

SEO may not be rocket science, but it shares a big principle with theoretical physics, as this blog explains.

If your chart has more than a thousand data labels, this blog explains why you may experience problems.

Cursors allow you to step through a set of data one record at a time. They’re not the quickest tool in SQL Server’s box, but they have their uses and this blog explains how they work.

This blog shows how to use each of the 5 arguments of the RANKX function to rank rows in PowerPivot.

Many programming languages feature a variety of types of loop which allow your programs to repeat a set of instructions multiple times. In SQL there is only one type of loop, and this blog explains how it works!

This blog shows you how to create table-valued functions in SQL (ie functions which return a table of data!).

Table variables allow you to hold rows of data in temporary storage, without any processing overhead. Read this blog to add this technique to your SQL armoury!

While SQL Server Management Studio is a powerful tool for writing queries, it has absolutely no concessions towards making the results of those queries remotely presentable! This blog describes several techniques for getting the results of a query into another application so that you can format them to your heart’s content.

If you have a calculation that you frequently use in SQL queries you're probably bored of writing out the same code time after time. Why not try creating a user-defined function to save you the hassle? This blog teaches you how to define your own custom functions, including how to use input parameters, how to alter a function after you've created it, and even how to use fancy programming techniques such as variables and IF statements to help structure complex sequences of calculations.