ChatGPT Says SSMS Is the Best SQL Server Monitoring Tool
Category:
monitoring-troubleshooting
, sql-server
One thing I enjoy about AI chatbots is that they can help me recognize when I’ve missed something obvious.
Tag: ssms
Git Command Line Tutorial with SQL Change Automation for SSMS (Video)
Category:
devops-automation
I’m excited for Redgate’s new SQL Change Automation plugin for SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS).
SQL Change Automation lets DBAs and developers use a migrations-first approach to create precise scripts to apply changes to your database. If you’re curious about what I mean by “migrations-first”, read more about this approach, and how it compares to a state-first approach here.
SQL Server Management Studio Is as Relevant as Ever
Category:
database-administration
, sql-server
🔥 UPDATE: Azure Data Studio (ADS) was retired on February 6, 2025, with support ending on February 28, 2026. Additionally, SSMS has been modernized and is no longer based on the legacy Visual Studio shell—it's now built on Visual Studio 2022 with 64-bit support and improved performance.
For more details, see the Azure Data Studio retirement announcement and Erin Stellato's announcement about SSMS modernization..
For more details, see the Azure Data Studio retirement announcement and Erin Stellato's announcement about SSMS modernization..
Sometimes you keep a classic around.
EstimateRowsWithoutRowGoal helps you see: is it a statistics problem?
Category:
query-performance
, sql-server
SQL Server Management Studio version 17.5 adds a welcome feature for execution plans: a new visual attribute named EstimateRowsWithoutRowGoal.
SSMS Shortcuts & Secrets - Live Webcast Edition (video)
Category:
ssms
, sql-server
Last week, I had a great time giving a webcast for the terrific DBA Fundamentals Virtual Chapter. If you like free online training, check them out and sign up for future events.
Shortcut Update: Toggling Intellisense in SSMS
Category:
database-administration
, sql-server
I like to use the keyboard whenever I can in SQL Server Management Studio. It’s not always easy to remember every shortcut though– especially when those shortcuts change!
Since around the SQL Server 2012 era, you’ve been able to switch Intellisense on or off on SSMS with the shortcut chord: CTRL + Q, CTRL + I. I remembered this as “Control Quacky Intellisense.”
Actual Time Statistics in Execution Plans: Elapsed CPU Time and more
Category:
query-performance
One of the coolest things to come to SQL Server Management Studio in a long time might be hard to see at first: it’s tucked away in the Properties Window.
But once you see it, it might just be something that you use all the time.