SQL Server Management Studio Tips
A complete guide to the hidden gems of SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), covering shortcuts, tips and tricks, useful scripts, and more.
2019-03-22 (first published: 2017-08-14)
16,941 reads
Articles
Can deleting rows make a table…bigger?
Michael J. Swart posted an interesting question: he had a large table with 7.5 billion rows and 5 indexes. When he deleted 10 million rows, he noticed that the indexes were getting larger, not smaller.
2019-03-22
2,752 reads
SQL Server Reporting Services Lookup, LookupSet and MultiLookup Functions
I noticed the Lookup function in SQL Server Reporting Services. In this tip we look at all three SSRS lookup functions: Lookup, LookupSet and MultiLookup.
2019-03-22
2,097 reads
Resumable Online Index Create and Rebuild Operations
Index maintenance can be a real headache for database administrators as tables grow larger and maintenance windows shrink. In this article, Greg Larsen demonstrates resumable index operations available with SQL Server 2017 and 2019. This feature helps DBAs work around those small maintenance windows by allowing certain index operations to be paused and restarted again later.
2019-03-21
1,738 reads
Transfer Data to the Cloud Using Azure Data Factory
In this tip we look at how to configure Azure Data Factory to move data from an on-premises SQL Server database to an Azure SQL Database.
2019-03-20
1,813 reads
Improve the Performance of Your Azure SQL Database (and Save Money!) with Automatic Tuning
Organizations may have many concerns about performance when migrating databases to Azure. Fortunately, Microsoft provides some great tools to help improve performance and save money. In this article, Monica Rathbun explains how to take advantage of these features.
2019-03-19
1,982 reads
Shrinking SQL Server Backup Files and Speeding Up Backups
With backup compression you can speed up our backups, while making your backups smaller.
2019-03-19
3,656 reads
What are Inline Indexes?
New releases of SQL Server arrive at a quick pace, and it's difficult to keep up with the many features introduced in each version. In this article, Phil Factor reviews a feature you may have missed, inline indexes. He covers the syntax and the many ways they can be used and then performs some performance tests to see if they can make a difference with table variables.
2019-03-18
3,669 reads
Create Power BI Connection to Azure SQL Database
Learn how to use Power BI to retrieve data from an Azure SQL Database.
2019-03-15
2,461 reads
What should you do about memory dumps?
A SQL Server monitoring tool is warning you that you’re getting memory dumps, and you’re wondering what that means.
2019-03-15
2,724 reads
Blogs
How to Clear the SSMS Cache (SSMS 21 and Later)
By SQLPals
How to Clear the SSMS Cache (SSMS 21 and Later) Updated...
The flight recorder: Replaying what an AI agent did on my SQL Server
By Arun Sirpal
“What exactly did it do on my server?” is the first question a DBA...
Announcements from the Microsoft Fabric Community Conference — Barcelona 2026
By James Serra
Microsoft shared a broad set of Fabric, Power BI, and SQL updates at FabCon...
Forums
Let's Talk Certifications
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Let's Talk Certifications
The Hidden Security Risks of Role Combination in SSAS Tabular
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Hidden Security Risks of...
The Empty Aggregate
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Empty Aggregate
Question of the Day
The Empty Aggregate
I have this table in a SQL Server 2025 database:
CREATE TABLE [dbo].[CustomerOrder] ( [OrderID] [int] NULL, [CustomerID] [int] NULL, [total] [money] NULL ) ON [PRIMARY] GOWhat is returned from this code? (answers are for the sum and then the count)
SELECT SUM(total) AS sum,
COUNT(total) AS count
FROM dbo.CustomerOrder;
See possible answers