Voice of the DBA

Tag: SSMS

  • Updating SSMS is Easy (w/ v21)

    I’ve been using the SSMS preview for v21. This is the next evolution of SSMS, where the VS shell is finally being updated. For many of us, SSMS has been using an old version of the Visual Studio shell as its basis for development. It’s a locked down version, which is limited what’s possible in SSMS. Redgate and a few other companies have hacked in tools like SQL Prompt and SQL Source Control, but the number of extensions.

    In any case, this post looks at the upgrade to preview 6. I was on 4 on this machine, and I noticed a message when (returned home and ) started SSMS.

    2025-04_0095

    Just like v19 and v20, this appears in the lower right corner. However, in this case, it’s showing a VS 2022 update.

    When I click the update on close, and close SSMS, I see a UAC dialog and then the VS Installer. The download and install starts right away, in the same way that any VS update comes down.

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    When this finishes, no download, nothing for me to do, I see things updated.

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    And I’m updated. When I started, I got the question about testing the new connection dialog, which I agreed to, but forgot to screenshot. In any case, I can now do more testing with this new version to be sure it’s working well.

    2025-04_0134

  • A Very Cool Benefit in SSMS 21

    I saw a post from Erin that Preview 2 is available. I’d gotten a message when I started SSMS v21 this morning, but got distracted.

    I made a short video showing me getting the update, which is way, way easier and more convenient than it used to be.

  • Connection String Confusion in SSMS

    Recently I was trying to use a connection string to connect in SSMS. There are some tools that have a connection string available as an output, including some Redgate tools. ADS lets me paste in a connection string. Can I do this in Management Studio (SSMS).

    Yes, but be careful.

    Getting a Connection String

    There are lots of ways to get a connection string. You can build one, or use a site like https://www.connectionstrings.com/sql-server/ I tend to get them for applications, as I work more with app developers.

    In any case, I’ll use this as my string:

    Server=Aristotle;Database=Sandbox;Trusted_Connection=True;

    If I open SSMs, I get a connection dialog like this one. I see the server, but if I wanted a specific database, I’d have to go to the second tab.

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    I could also go to the last tab, the Additional Connection Properties, and paste my string in there.

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    I press Connect and that works great.

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    If I open a new Query Window, I’m connected to the Sandbox database.

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    The Problem

    Let’s change the connection. I’ll press the icon to the left of the database name in the image above. Then I’ll go to the second tab and pick a database. In this case, I’ve selected the Westwind database.

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    If I click Connect, I see this:

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    The connection string in the individual parameters overrides the selection here. If this were a day later, I might remember I’d put a string in the Additional Connection Parameters. I rarely use this and when this happened, I couldn’t figure out why this wasn’t working.

    I thought this also happened with changing the main dialog and the server name, but this appears fixed. At least on SSMS 20.1, the additional connection parameters are linked with any saved systems I have on the first tab, so if I change servers in the drop down, the additional connection parameters link to the last entry for that server.

    On my laptop, which has 20.2, I’ll enter this as a connection string in the last tab:

    2024-09_0033

    In this case, I have multiple container instances running on different ports. This instance is on port 41433. On the main tab of the connection dialog, I see this:

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    What happens when I press Connect? I get to this server:

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    The default port is SQL Server 2022, but the additional connection properties overrode the front screen in this case.

    Summary

    I’ve never had this problem in 30+ years of SQL Server work until this summer. However, it’s the first time I’ve really been focused on using connection strings more often than just entering values in the dialog. I only noticed this as I had a deployment going to one instance, but SSMS kept connecting to the other one and I didn’t realize this.

    I think it’s OK to have conflicting values in locations, but it wasn’t clear to me that these values override others. This is documented on the MSLearn site, but it’s easy to miss this.

    Hence this blog.

  • How Often Do You Update SSMS?

    I got a message recently that SSM S19.3 is out. I am wary of major versions, especially with a few add-in tools, but I have tended to try and update SSMS regularly when it patches, which is about once a quarter. As I checked my desktop, I saw I was still on 19.1 (my laptop was 19.2), so I downloaded and updated both machines.

    I wonder what the rest of you do. I know many of you have corporate rules and restrictions and you may not be able to update regularly, but in many places, I’ve worked, once software was installed, I could update it. Are you doing the same thing out there? Let us know in the comments, or better yet, include the version you are running.

    Some of you might use VS Code or Azure Data Studio as well, which have more of a nag screen to update. I find myself updating ADS/VS Code more often, though not with every version. I tend to prefer software working and am less interested in gambling on potential issues unless there is a bug I need fixed.

    My work at Redgate brings me into contact with lots of customers, and I find a number of them view software like I do. They prefer working versions over the latest and greatest. In fact, we’ve added options to many of our products so people who want the latest have a frequent updates channel. Others can get notified less often; we even have a 7/14/28 day switch in Flyway Desktop.

    I tend to prefer updating a week or so after most releases, though depending on how busy I am, I might end up a week or two after the next release. I want to see if there are reports of issues or problems before I upgrade. However, even that is more often than what I hear from many others. Lots of people want to upgrade every few months, often quarterly, to minimize any disruptions to daily work.

    Are you the same? I’m interested in SSMS, but what about other tools as well? Is this the same for patches of Windows/SQL Server? Do you upgrade some software more or less often? Let me know today with a comment in the discussion.

    Steve Jones

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