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Category: SQL Server Management Studio

Fetching Query Plans in Fabric Data Warehouse

Published 2026-09-24 by Kevin Feasel

Louis Davidson shows a process:

So in this next entry in this series, I want to start to cover a topic that every nerdy SQL programmer is going to want to know. “How do I make a query faster?” If you have worked with relational databases, you know the simple answer is to… check the estimated query plan, run the query and look at the actual plan, and in many cases to be completely honest, add indexes.

Click through to see how closely your current SQL Server skills translate in this instance. The specifics of query tuning and table design in the Fabric Data Warehouse will differ a bit from on-premises SQL Server, but at this level, it’s quite similar.

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Further Thoughts on the SSMS SQL Formatter

Published 2026-08-28 by Kevin Feasel

Chad Callihan takes another look:

I posted a few months ago about the latest SQL Server Management Studio updates, including a preview of their SQL Formatter. SSMS 22.9.0 was released a few weeks ago and called out some SQL Formatter improvements on the release announcement, so I thought it would be worth taking a fresh look to see how things are moving along.

Click through for Chad’s current thoughts. The big challenge with a good SQL formatting tool is that it be adaptable to somewhat complex formatting standards. If the tool can’t do what your team has agreed on, then the tool’s not going to cut it for more than occasional personal use.

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Viewing Statistics a SQL Server Query Used

Published 2026-08-04 by Kevin Feasel

Dualcore DBA takes a look:

Something I have been making use of recently is the change in the way statistics that have been used to compile a plan are presented to us as SQL Server users. On a number of occasions I have needed to understand, or at least get some sense of, which statistics SQL Server has used to come up with some of its estimates, usually when troubleshooting a poor estimate. This information has been available to us for a while, but up until fairly recent (OK – define recent, I guess!) versions of SQL Server, it was a bit hidden.

Granted, “fairly recent” means “all of the SQL Server versions that no longer have official support.” But there’s a compatibility level factor at play as well, so click through to learn more.

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Tracking Actual Execution Plans in SSMS

Published 2026-07-21 by Kevin Feasel

Deborah Melkin continues a series on query plans:

This is the second part of the series. Hopefully you are all caught up on Part 1. If not, you can see that here.

Part 2 is about Actual Execution Plans. I have the (slightly edited for garbled words) transcript below for those who prefer to read, with references to places in the video. Otherwise, watch the video and let me know what you think.

Click through for the video and transcript.

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SQL Formatting in SSMS 22.7

Published 2026-06-25 by Kevin Feasel

Chad Callihan tries out a new feature:

Code formatting can be a touchy subject. Sometimes there are clear rules to designate right and wrong, and sometimes there’s not. Tabs versus spaces, anyone?

Surprisingly, SQL Server Management Studio has never had a built-in SQL formatter. Users were always left to use third-party tools or format by hand. But with the latest SSMS 22.7, SQL formatting finally comes built-in.

Let’s look at some examples and see how it performs.

Chad also spotted a problem in the formatter as it is in that release.

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StatisticsParser Extension to SQL Server Management Studio

Published 2026-05-20 by Kevin Feasel

Brent Ozar announces a new extension:

If you do a lot of query tuning, you’ve probably come across Richie Rump’s StatisticsParser.com. Now, it’s even easier to use.

Now, it’s even easier to use. Download & install it, then run your query with SET STATISTICS IO, TIME ON, and after it finishes, right-click in the query window and click Parse Statistics:

Read on for more information on the extension, as well as the state of extensions in SSMS. Erik Ejlskov Jensen has also picked up the gauntlet and built an SSMS extension gallery.

I will say that the Visual Studio Code world is in significantly better shape in this regard, though the SQL Server tooling is in significantly worse shape there. Life is full of trade-offs, after all.

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Thoughts on Database Projects in SSMS 22.4

Published 2026-04-29 by Kevin Feasel

Andy Brownsword shares some thoughts:

Last month in SSMS v22.4, we had the Database DevOps (preview) workload introduced which brings with it Database Projects. Last week I shared my favourite features for them which make deployments amazing.

But if you’ve tried them out in SSMS you might have noticed that not everything is present. It’s a preview, after all. So what can we do today?

Read on for that answer.

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Protecting the SSMS Server List

Published 2026-03-30 by Kevin Feasel

Jens Vestergaard provides an update:

Twelve years ago 🤯 I wrote a quick post about never losing your server list in SSMS again. The short version was: copy one file, stay sane. The file was called SqlStudio.bin, and the trick still works today if you are on an old enough version.

But if you are running SSMS 19, 20, 21 or 22 on Windows 11, the file is gone. The settings have moved, and the format has changed. The principle is the same, but the file you need to grab is different.

Here is the updated version for 2026.

Click through to see what changed starting in SSMS 19, as well as how to manage that file.

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