Warning: Even though this is a text-search method, the script I'm going to share has saved me lots and lots of hours. It searches inside:
- scalar functions
- table-valued functions
- stored procedures
- views
- triggers
I needed to specify a collation to make it work for me.
SELECT
sys.objects.object_id,
sys.schemas.name AS [Schema],
sys.objects.name AS Object_Name,
sys.objects.type_desc AS [Type]
FROM sys.sql_modules (NOLOCK)
INNER JOIN sys.objects (NOLOCK) ON sys.sql_modules.object_id = sys.objects.object_id
INNER JOIN sys.schemas (NOLOCK) ON sys.objects.schema_id = sys.schemas.schema_id
WHERE
sys.sql_modules.definition COLLATE SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS LIKE '%{Column Name}%' ESCAPE '\'
ORDER BY sys.objects.type_desc, sys.schemas.name, sys.objects.name
The output is like the following:
Update: If you need to search for a certain table, SP, etc. you could use a more specialized query:
DECLARE @SCHEMA_NAME VARCHAR(100) = 'dbo';
DECLARE @OBJECT_NAME VARCHAR(100) = 'MY_OBJECT';
SELECT
sys.objects.object_id,
sys.schemas.name AS [Schema],
sys.objects.name AS Object_Name,
sys.objects.type_desc AS [Type]
FROM sys.sql_modules (NOLOCK)
INNER JOIN sys.objects (NOLOCK) ON sys.sql_modules.object_id = sys.objects.object_id
INNER JOIN sys.schemas (NOLOCK) ON sys.objects.schema_id = sys.schemas.schema_id
WHERE
(
'#' + sys.sql_modules.definition + '#' COLLATE SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS LIKE '%[^a-z_]'+@SCHEMA_NAME+'.'+@OBJECT_NAME+'[^a-z_]%' ESCAPE '\'
OR '#' + sys.sql_modules.definition + '#' COLLATE SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS LIKE '%[^a-z_]\['+@SCHEMA_NAME+'\].'+@OBJECT_NAME+'[^a-z_]%' ESCAPE '\'
OR '#' + sys.sql_modules.definition + '#' COLLATE SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS LIKE '%[^a-z_]'+@SCHEMA_NAME+'.\['+@OBJECT_NAME+'\][^a-z_]%' ESCAPE '\'
OR '#' + sys.sql_modules.definition + '#' COLLATE SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS LIKE '%[^a-z_]\['+@SCHEMA_NAME+'\].\['+@OBJECT_NAME+'\][^a-z_]%' ESCAPE '\'
)
ORDER BY sys.objects.type_desc, sys.schemas.name, sys.objects.name
P.S.: Both queries search inside comments too.
