Tools/Utilities

In my last Management Studio tip, I demonstrated how you can drag and drop column names to a query window. The only part I do not like about that is that all the column names are on a single line. I prefer to have on column name per line, and to quickly fix this we are going to use a Regular Expression (RegEx) within the Find and Replace dialog box. For those not familiar with RegEx, it allows you to search through text using a multitude of options. In our example, we are going to use RegEx to quickly find...

Continuing on my recent trend of Management Studio tips, here is another that could save you a few minutes. In today’s scenario, we need to write a select statement that returns only the first few columns of a table. It is a super simple statement, but instead of typing out all the column names, we can just drag and drop them from the Object Explorer. Watch the video below for a quick demo.   If you are not a fan of the square brackets around each object name, then you can change the settings so they no longer appear. From...

Have you ever had a need to edit multiple lines in a T-SQL script? As in, type the same text repeatedly on multiple lines? Well, a little-known key stroke makes this an easy task in Management Studio. Simply place your cursor where you want to start typing, hold down Alt+Shift and then hit either the Up or Down arrow key. You will then see a vertical blinking cursor. Now just start typing. You can even hit Enter which will add a new line in between each one where you can continue typing. Watch the video below for a quick demo.

The other day I was asked why Management Studio limits you to only 200 rows when you right click on a table to edit the data. The easy answer is because that is how Management Studio is configured. However, it’s also something that can easily be changed. From the menu just select Tools and then Options. In the Options window, select SQL Server Object Explorer on the left side. On the right side you’ll see the the Table and View Options. Change the Value for Edit Top <n> Rows to something like 500 and then click OK. Now go back...

There is still no love for SQL Server Management Studio. SSMS v18 Beta included a Dark Theme, but somehow that did not make it into the final release of the product. Other apps have this capability (Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code, Chrome, Edge) but not SSMS. If you are like me, sometimes you want to switch your apps to a dark theme for added flair. A quick web search will reveal several ways to hack SSMS to display a dark theme, but that may not produce the best results. So, until Microsoft decides to include it, here is how I...