As an engineer with over two decades of experience in SQL Server, I've encountered my fair share of inefficiencies and limitations within SSMS. Motivated by these challenges, I started developing the SSMS extension back in 2016. This repository represents the third iteration of my work, tailored specifically for SSMS 18, 19 and 20. This project is a personal endeavor to solve the issues I've faced, but I would like to incorporate valuable community feedback and ideas as well.
While I recognize that this extension may overlap with existing tools, both free and paid, my passion lies in coding and tackling problems in my own unique way. The aim isn't to overshadow other solutions but to provide a complementary tool that addresses gaps and simplifies processes for engineers like myself.
I'm committed to keeping this tool free and openly available to the community. While formalized support won't be provided, I welcome feedback and suggestions to continually improve and evolve the tool based on user needs.
If you find this extension useful and it helps streamline your workflow in SSMS, please consider giving it a ⭐ star on the repository. Your support not only motivates me but also helps others in the community discover this tool.
Check it out and let me know what you think!
Very much work in progress. Please submit bugs/ideas in this repo.
- Transaction Warning: See right away if you left any transaction open.
- Precise Execution Time: See milliseconds on the status bar.
-
Format Any TSQL Code: Validate and format your TSQL code with Microsoft TSQL parser, making it more readable and maintainable.
-
Quick Query Templates: Access a collection of query templates for common tasks, saving time and effort on routine queries.
-
Export Grid to Excel: Quickly export results from the grid view directly into Excel file.
-
Export Grid to Email: Similar to the previous feature, but with the added ability to send the file via email directly from SSMS.
-
Export Grid as Temp Table: Convert the grid result(s) into temp table with insert statements.
-
Script Selected Object Definition: Quickly generate scripts for the definition of selected objects directly from the selected query text.
-
Server Health Dashboard: A quick overview of the server's most important metrics..
-
Right Alignment for Numeric Values in Grid: Automatically align numeric values in the grid result to the right.
-> 
-
Quick Data Transfer Between Two Open Connections: Select source/target in one click and copy data quickly.
The extension also comes with a set of queries, which have been compiled over time and incorporate ideas and best practices from many SQL experts. These templates are designed to cover a wide range of scenarios, helping you to execute complex tasks faster.
To install the addin, you have two options:
-
Compile from Source: If you prefer to compile the tool from the source code, please ensure you are using Visual Studio 2017 for compatibility. Select either the SSMS18, SSMS19 or SSMS20 active configurations. The build process will automatically copy all necessary files into the SSMS extension folder, and you will be ready to use it.
-
Download the Release: For a quicker setup, download the most recent version from the Releases section of this GitHub repository. Choose between the SSMS 18, 19 and 20 versions.
After obtaining the compiled files (either by compiling from source or downloading from Releases), follow these steps to install the extension:
-
For SSMS 20, place the folder with the compiled files into the following directory:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio 20\Common7\IDE\Extensions -
For SSMS 19, use this directory instead:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio 19\Common7\IDE\Extensions -
For SSMS 18, use this directory instead:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio 18\Common7\IDE\Extensions
If your Windows security policy has blocked the AxialSqlTools.dll file, you may need to unlock it by using the checkbox in the file properties.
Restart SQL Server Management Studio after placing the files in the extensions directory.
After installation, the Axial SQL Tools toolbar will be available in the list of toolbars within SSMS, providing quick access to all the features.
We believe in the power of community and are open to any ideas or bug reports. Your contributions are what make this tool better every day. If you have ideas for new features or have encountered a bug, please feel free to submit them in this repository.
- Submit bugs in the Issues section of this repository.
- Add ideas in the Discussions section.
We appreciate your feedback and contributions!
This project stands on the shoulders of the many developers and authors who have publicly shared their work. I am not an expert in C# or VSIX development, so the creation of this tool would not have been possible without the invaluable resources and examples published by others on GitHub. We do not claim any copyright over the work derived from these contributions. Our aim is to give back to the community by sharing this tool, and we are deeply grateful for the guidance and inspiration provided by the broader developer community.
This tool is distributed freely under the Apache-2.0 license, with no warranty implied.
It is an internal tool that we use daily at our organization.
While we do not offer formal support or sell this tool, we are open to consulting and helping solve complex SQL Server challenges.
Feel free to reach out for professional assistance: [email protected].
This extension is provided "as is", with all faults, defects, and errors, and without warranty of any kind. The creators do not offer support and are not responsible for any damage or loss resulting from the use of this tool.
Thank you for using the Axial SQL Tools SSMS Addin! We hope it makes your work with SQL Server significantly more efficient!