Last week I installed the client tools for MS SQL 2005 at work. We are still using SQL Server 2000 for all of our production servers, but I wanted to get MS’s new Management Studio because it works with older versions of SQL Server as well. Here are my thoughts so far:Good things
- Tabs. You can now have multiple queries and other things open in tabs, all in one window. All I can say is, it’s about time. 🙂
- You can now switch to a different database for an existing query window. This was possible before by opening a new query connection and then copy/paste. Now you can just switch an existing connection.
- Copying a value from the query results doesn’t come with a line feed anymore. I love this fix! (I considered the old way a bug, but others may disagree).
- If you’re working with an .sql file, the query editor shows you which lines you’ve edited by coloring them differently in the left margin
Bad things
- It’s now a bloated management environment. This isn’t really bad, because you can manage almost all SQL Server functions with one program. But I mainly use the query editor, and it takes a long time for the program to open now (Query Analyzer was always fast, but then again I hate QA in general). I’ve just gotten used to leaving it open all the time so that I can have quick access to it.
- Opening a .sql file creates a new window instead of replacing the existing window. This is just something I’ll have to get used to. In Query Analyzer I was used to opening a connection to a server, and then opening a .sql file, which then appears in the connection I just opened. If you did this in Management Studio, it leaves you with two windows, one blank, and a new one that contains the .sql file. Again, its just a change of habits I’ll have to make. In fact, I’d say I like the new way better, I’m just used to the QA behavior.
- Object Explorer is not dynamic. In QA, you could open up Object Browser (called Object Explorer now), and it would already be connected to all DB connections you have open. In Management Studio, you have to connect to any new DB again, even if you’ve already connected to one for your query editor. This is particularly annoying if you have to put in a username/password when you connect.
Overall, I’d say Management Studio is a huge improvement over Query Analyzer. I haven’t done a lot with the non-query management tasks, because as I said before, we don’t have any 2005 servers in production. I’m anxious to see how much I like the changes in Management Studio over Enterprise Manager.