The problem with above approach is sometimes, when one pastes the result to excel, the formatting can go haywire, especially if the result contains carriage return (new line) and commas as shown below.

* Export to excel via export wizard

Little tedious and sometimes getting the mapping right can be a pain.

Over the years, the simplest and effective technique, I have used is running T SQL query directly from excel (Yes, you can do that :)). Not just that, it gives a cleanly formatted result all the time!!! Step by step instructions provided below

How to run TSQL Query from Excel:

Click next and finish (we are not done yet :))

Click on properties

Uncheck background refresh check box

Click on the "Definition" tab and change the command type to "SQL" from "Table"

Paste the query you want to run on the "Command Text" box as shown below

Result would be a nice formatted excel sheet as shown below

From excel once can not only get select query results but stored procedures as well. Excel also servers as an excellent tool to query database when one needs to access the database on a machine that doesn't have SQL Server Management Studio. Hope the tip was useful!!!

The problem with above approach is sometimes, when one pastes the result to excel, the formatting can go haywire, especially if the result contains carriage return (new line) and commas as shown below.

* Export to excel via export wizard

Little tedious and sometimes getting the mapping right can be a pain.

Over the years, the simplest and effective technique, I have used is running T SQL query directly from excel (Yes, you can do that :)). Not just that, it gives a cleanly formatted result all the time!!! Step by step instructions provided below

How to run TSQL Query from Excel:

Click next and finish (we are not done yet :))

Click on properties

Uncheck background refresh check box

Click on the "Definition" tab and change the command type to "SQL" from "Table"

Paste the query you want to run on the "Command Text" box as shown below

Result would be a nice formatted excel sheet as shown below

From excel once can not only get select query results but stored procedures as well. Excel also servers as an excellent tool to query database when one needs to access the database on a machine that doesn't have SQL Server Management Studio. Hope the tip was useful!!!