Category: SQL Server Management Studio

Tom Zika gets spun around a bit:

The other day I managed to confuse myself. I was looking up some information from an Extended Events (XE) session, but my eyes were playing a trick on me. The database ids were off by one, and I couldn’t find some query hashes in the Query Store, even when they were supposed to be there. So my first thought was that I must be connected to a different server with a drift. But the information in the SSMS tab, status bar and even colour coding (courtesy of Redgate’s SQL Prompt) – all pointed to the correct server.

I don’t think I’ve ever run into this before but could see how it’d be really confusing.

Kevin Hill needs more than one row:

If you spend much time at all in SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), you’ve no doubt had trouble figuring out which query tab is the one you need.

Many DBAs and SQL Devs find themselves (despite best intentions and New Years Resolutions) with dozens of tabs open, and many of them unsaved.

Kevin shows the built-in solution. My solution is Tabs Studio. I paid $50 for it and have zero qualms with the purchase.

Paul White notes a change in SQL Server 2022:

Batch mode plans report CPU and elapsed time spent within each individual operator.

Row mode plans report cumulative CPU and elapsed time for each operator including all its child operators.

This is confusing enough, but modern versions of SQL Server can produce execution plans with a mixture of batch mode and row mode operators in the same execution plan.

But there are some nice changes in SQL Server 2022 to improve the situation a bit.

Kenneth Fisher keeps ’em separated:

I use this all of the time. I have a solution in SSMS to store all of the queries I use on a regular basis. I open one of the queries and then pin it to the top to keep it sperate from the rest of my sometimes literally dozens of queries. Things like my query to figure out where the backups for this instance are, and my diagnostic queries are almost always up there at the top left. So I open the file, pin the file. A few days later when I end up re-opening SSMS I open the file, and I pin the file. Not hard, but rather repetitive.

The other day though I found a fantastic option.

Click through to learn what Kenneth found.

Chad Callihan doesn’t want to see all of those databases:

Life can be easier when you block out the noise and only see what you need to see. Did you know you can do that with the list of databases in SSMS? As of the SSMS 16.3 2016 release, database filtering is possible.

Let’s take a look at how to hide databases we don’t want to see.

Out of sight, out of mind.

Daniel Hutmacher previews a table with a keyboard shortcut:

On the surface, these query shortcuts are just what the name implies – a key combination that you can press to run a command or execute a stored procedure. But there’s a hidden super power: whatever text you’ve selected in SSMS when you press the keyboard combination gets appended to the shortcut statement.

That is quite useful, though I’ve already bound all of those SSMS shortcuts to various forms of WhoIsActive.

Andrea Allred creates a local server group:

In the past, I have talked about CMS (Central Management Servers), but now I don’t have CMS configured and still want to query multiple instances at once. Local Server Groups are my friend.

My preference is CMS, especially as the number of data platform professionals increases. Keeping track of all of those new instances can be a pain otherwise. But if you’re in an environment in which that’s not an option, local server groups provide a reasonable alternative.