The Recalcitrant DBA

SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) has been around since SQL Server 2005 and is a surprisingly nice environment from which to manage SQL Server.  Of course it has its shortcomings and there are 3d party tools that supply either replacements or add-ins to it.  However, if you have not given it a through look over, it might be easy to ignore some of its best features, so I thought I would take you on a quick tour.  Everything I list here is for the version of SSMS that shipped with SQL 2012, but most of the items mentioned are available in any version.  So, let’s start with some basics and then move on to some more sophisticated things.   SSMS Settings   From the Tools menu, click Options .  You now have a wealth of ways to customized SSMS at your fingertips.  Too many to go over in detail, so a few of my favorites, then.  Environment \ Fonts and Colors gives old geeks like me the chance to adjust the font size for query w...

Why start blogging?   OK, I have to be honest, I don't want to blog.  My boss has asked me to blog for years, but I didn't think I had that much to say; and that is odd, given that I'm an instructor.  Oh, sure, I talk all day long, teaching students cool things about SQL Server, but why would I want to do that all again and spill it all out in a blog.  The simple answer is, that I want to give back.  I might not post anything that is earth-shattering, but I know that when I first got started in SQL Server there was no such thing a blog, in fact, the Internet was hardly existing.  (Yes, I'm that old.)  But, over the years, I have learned so much from other kind people who were willing to share their knowledge and insight that I felt the need to give back, or pay it forward, or whatever the hip phrase is this week.  I guess I figgered it was my turn.  My hope is that I can help someone else along the way and that all of those people will be ...