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Category: SQL Server Management Studio

Generating Scripts as a Notebook in SSMS 18.5

Published 2020-04-09 by Kevin Feasel

Emanuele Meazzo is excited about some new functionality in SQL Server Management Studio 18.5:

Microsoft just dropped SSMS 18.5 after almost 5 long months without any updates; this new release fixes a lot of bugs and introduces a few new features, above them all I’m now showing you the following.

I’m sure that you used the the “Generate Scripts” feature in SSMS quite a few times, you could generate the code for schema and/or data for any (or all) the objects in your DB, especially if you haven’t embraced that sweet, elusive, devops workflow.

Well, good news! Other than file, clipboard and the good ‘o new query window, you can now export directly to a new Notebook.

Read on to see what you have to do and what the output looks like.

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SQL Server Management Studio 18.5 GA

Published 2020-04-08 by Kevin Feasel

Dinakar Nethi announces that SSMS 18.5 is now generally available:

Today, we’re sharing the release of SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) 18.5. We have some feature updates as well as important behind the scenes updates.

You can download SQL Server Management Studio 18.5  today and review SSMS Release Notes for full details.

Hugo Kornelis recommends that you update as soon as possible:

And I need all of you to update your version. Now. Yes, right now. Here’s a link to download it. I’ll wait.

Why the rush, you ask? Because hidden in between all the little (and some big) improvements and fixes, there is one true gem. One I wish Microsoft had done … oh, let’s say two decades ago?

Click through to see what has Hugo so excited.

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Exploring the Extended Events Live Data Window

Published 2020-03-18 by Kevin Feasel

Grant Fritchey takes us through the Extended Events Live Data window:

One reason a lot of people don’t like Extended Events is because the output is in XML. Let’s face it, XML is a pain in the bottom. However, there are a bunch of ways around dealing with the XML data. The first, and easiest, is to ignore it completely and use the Live Data window built into SQL Server Management Studio.

I’ve written about the Live Data window before, and I’ve been using it throughout this series of posts on Extended Events. There’s a lot more to this tool than is immediately apparent. Today, we’re going to explore the basics around this tool

Read on to see what you can do with this. It’s a lot more powerful than it first appears to be.

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Azure Data Studio and Query Store

Published 2020-03-10 by Kevin Feasel

Rob Farley explains why Azure Data Studio can’t be a 100% thing right now:

But the big thing with this new laptop is that I’ve made a conscious decision about what to install on it. And particularly, what things to NOT install.

For example, I’ve only installed SQL inside docker, not directly on Windows. I’m running the Linux version just because I can.

But today I feel like I’ve compromised.

Today I’ve installed SSMS, instead of persisting with just Azure Data Studio. It only took a week for me to cave, and the reason is Query Store.

Read on to understand why. I ended up having to cave on Docker-only for SQL Server because of PolyBase components that I needed and which aren’t (yet?) supported in the Linux version.

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Resizing the SSMS Grid Results

Published 2020-03-05 by Kevin Feasel

Kenneth Fisher shows how you can resize SQL Server Management Studio’s results grid:

After my post last month about configuring your tools I’ve been on a make my life easier kick and one of the things that gives me grief every day is that my eyesight is at best mediocre and some days it’s worse than others. (I have issues. No, not just those issues, issues that effect my eye sight.) I’m in SSMS 90% of my day or more so it really helps that it’s easy to zoom in and out on the query window, and even the message results pane. There is a little box with a percentage in the bottom left corner of each of the two panes. This controls the font size of that pane.

This is also helpful if you ever present using SSMS and don’t have a strong grasp of Zoom-It or the magnifier app.

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Monitoring Availability Groups

Published 2020-02-25 by Kevin Feasel

Nisarg Upadhyay gives us some of the low-down on monitoring availability groups:

In my previous articles, I have explained the step-by-step process of deploying an AlwaysOn Availability group on SQL Server 2017. In this article, I am going to explain how to monitor AlwaysOn availability groups.

First, let’s review the configuration of the availability group we had deployed previously. To do that, open SQL Server Management Studio  Expand database engine from the object explorer  Expand “AlwaysOn High Availability”  Expand “Availability Groups.” You can see the availability group named SQLAAG. Under this availability group (SQLAAG), you can see the list of availability replicas, availability databases, and availability group listeners.

Click through for some tooling built into SQL Server Management Studio, as well as relevant Perfmon counters.

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SSMS Tips

Published 2020-02-13 by Kevin Feasel

Taiob Ali has a few tips for us around using SQL Server Management Studio:

Opening SSMS as a different user

I have two Active Directory Accounts. Once I use to login to my workstation and everything except working inside Databases. For that, I needed to open the SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) with my admin account. I created an instance of runas application on my desktop to do that. Saves me a few clicks and type in my user name and password every time I launch SSMS. Text of the target.

Click through to see how that works. This is quite useful when you’re working in multiple environments or across multiple domains, especially if you slap on the /netonly parameter.

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Creating a New Database in Azure Data Studio

Published 2020-02-03 by Kevin Feasel

Dave Bland shows how you can create a new database using Azure Data Studio:

Regardless of what tool we are using, SQL Server Management Studio or Azure Data Studio, the need to create new databases is always present. Using Transact SQL is an option in both tools.  What is not an option in both tools is to right click and to go “New Database”.  This has been in SSMS for many years, however it is NOT present in Azure Data Studio.

If you really do want to create a new database using a GUI in Azure Data Studio, Dave shows you the extension you need. It’s not as fully-featured as the wizard in Management Studio, so it would make sense to understand what that wizard is doing and learn the T-SQL yourself.

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Fixing Screen Repainting Issues in SSMS

Published 2020-01-28 by Kevin Feasel

Greg Low has a workaround for an annoying problem:

Once again, I’m seeing lots of customers reporting screen repainting issues in SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS). It mostly seems to affect version 18 but I’ve also seen it in version 17. And it’s most prevalent on Windows 10.

The typical issue is that you click on another open tab, and the contents of the tab doesn’t repaint. You are still seeing the previous tab. If you click into the tab, you start to see bits from both tabs.

Click through to see the fix. I’ve seen this issue pop up though I don’t remember seeing it on the latest version of SSMS 18…though now that I say that, I’m guaranteed to have the problem hit me today.

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Bug with UnmatchedIndexes and Filtered Indexes

Published 2020-01-21 by Kevin Feasel

Taiob Ali points out a bug in SQL Server Management Studio:

SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) showplan root node properties have two attributes to indicate when a filtered index can not be used during a parameterized query. One is ‘UnmatchedIndexes’, and the other one is under ‘Warnings’ attribute. Due to a bug in SSMS, the attributes are also showing positive results with filtered index and non-parameterized queries.

Let’s look at an example. I am using the AdventureWorks database, which you download from here.

If you want this fixed, vote up this Feedback item.

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