I am having a problem with a client's database, and I am a bit confused about Recovery models. When I right-click on the database in EM and select properties, then select Options, the Recovery model says Full. I had understood that when the Full model is chosen, the inactive part of the transaction log is truncated.

I am getting a message from SQL Server that the transaction log is full, and the database is now in single used mode. To make matters worse, the drive where the data is stored only has 5 MB free, due the huge size of the transaction log. I have missed something fundamental about the transaction log. Why is it so large, and what can I (safely) do to shrink it?

Now I just check the maintenance plan they devised, and the plan does not backup the transaction log. What should I do? HELP!