Right-Click File Options in SSMS and SSDT

Ordinarily I wouldn’t blog solely about a set of right-click options in an application, but in this Eleven Days of Festivus series I’m sharing some quick tips that have helped me in SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) and SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT).

When working in Management Studio, you can access several handy functions by right-clicking any open file in SSMS. In the example below, I’ve right-clicked on a SQL file in SSMS to show the system options available.

The usual options, including Save and Close, are part of this menu. You can also open a new file explorer window in the folder where that file is saved by clicking Open Containing Folder, or copy the full path of that file to the clipboard by selecting Copy Full Path. Other handy options include moving this query to a new tab group, either vertical or horizontal, which allows you to see multiple files in a single SSMS window. You can also close all open files, or close everything but the current file.

There is a similar set of options when working with documents in SQL Server Data Tools. Right-clicking allows you to copy or navigate to the folder containing the current file, as well as the option to close all files or close everything but the current file.

While this tip probably won’t change anyone’s workflow, hopefully you’ll remember that these options are there when you need to quickly jump into the file system for the current project, change your window layout, or close some or all of the current open files.

About the Author

Tim Mitchell
Tim Mitchell is a data architect and consultant who specializes in getting rid of data pain points. Need help with data warehousing, ETL, reporting, or training? If so, contact Tim for a no-obligation 30-minute chat.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.