Setting Different Colors for Connections in SSMS
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aochss (9/17/2013)
One thing to note is that the color doesn't show up when doing an action that doesn't have a status bar (Edit Top 200 Rows, Design, Add Table).Too bad, since this is where I am most likely to lose track of which database I am making changes to.
However, still worth when editing scripts.
Anton
Anton, when making changes through Design or Add Table, there's usually the option to generate a script. You can do that, then put the script in the appropriate window and verify your connection. I use the "Edit Top 200" functionality sparingly, but agree that connection coloring would be nice to have there.
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I do miss the old Query Analyser.
You could specify a format file as input to the program. If you wanted a red background with white bolded text for a production connection you could do so very easily.
Ah the good old days...
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Peter Schott (9/17/2013)
Jeff Moden (9/17/2013)
I'm not sure what's going on but I'm using SQL Server 2005 Developer's Edition (SP3) and the "Use Custom Color" checkbox is not present. Are you sure that this feature is available in 2005?Jeff, I am not sure about this. I used SSMS 2012 when I wrote this article. It's very possible that we could not use a custom color in SSMS 2005. I actually stopped trying to use the native functionality in 2005 and 2008 because I do a lot of Connection Changes for my current windows and SSMS colors don't follow those changes reliably. I switched to the SSMS Tools Pack for connection coloring and never really looked back after that. 🙂
Thanks. I was taken back a bit because your introduction to the article said that it came out in 2005. You might want to revisit that and have Steve Jones change it for you.
--Jeff Moden
RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally) -
Jeff Moden (9/17/2013)
Peter Schott (9/17/2013)
Jeff Moden (9/17/2013)
I'm not sure what's going on but I'm using SQL Server 2005 Developer's Edition (SP3) and the "Use Custom Color" checkbox is not present. Are you sure that this feature is available in 2005?Jeff, I am not sure about this. I used SSMS 2012 when I wrote this article. It's very possible that we could not use a custom color in SSMS 2005. I actually stopped trying to use the native functionality in 2005 and 2008 because I do a lot of Connection Changes for my current windows and SSMS colors don't follow those changes reliably. I switched to the SSMS Tools Pack for connection coloring and never really looked back after that. 🙂
Thanks. I was taken back a bit because your introduction to the article said that it came out in 2005. You might want to revisit that and have Steve Jones change it for you.
I'll do that. It's been a long time since I've used SSMS 2005 so my memory was obviously fuzzy on that feature. I remember really appreciating it when it came out, then being disappointed when it didn't work as expected. Apparently the bug for not changing consistently was addressed in SQL 2008 R2 SP1 according to this Connect ticket: http://connect.microsoft.com/SQLServer/feedback/details/504418/ssms-make-color-coding-of-query-windows-work-all-the-time
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aochss (9/17/2013)
Thanks for the tip. Learned two items today. Registration of servers and how to set colors.Has anyone tried the SSMS Tools pack add-in? Any stability issues with the add-in? The ability to search in the grid is alone worth the install. It would save the copy/paste into Word, Excel or notepad to do a search
Anton
We've been using it all of 2013 so far.... absolutely fantastic add on that not only exposes this color thing in the article, but you can set it to automatically save open script windows in a folder of your choice, output to Excel (as you talk about) and also even add a little growl-looking box in the top right of any script window to tell you what Database you're on (in case you aren't paying attention to it)
It also has a very good "Format SQL" button to format the highlighted code with tabs and commas
I can't convey enough how anyone who wants to save time and effort in daily SSMS use
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Peter Schott (9/17/2013)
Jeff Moden (9/17/2013)
Peter Schott (9/17/2013)
Jeff Moden (9/17/2013)
I'm not sure what's going on but I'm using SQL Server 2005 Developer's Edition (SP3) and the "Use Custom Color" checkbox is not present. Are you sure that this feature is available in 2005?Jeff, I am not sure about this. I used SSMS 2012 when I wrote this article. It's very possible that we could not use a custom color in SSMS 2005. I actually stopped trying to use the native functionality in 2005 and 2008 because I do a lot of Connection Changes for my current windows and SSMS colors don't follow those changes reliably. I switched to the SSMS Tools Pack for connection coloring and never really looked back after that. 🙂
Thanks. I was taken back a bit because your introduction to the article said that it came out in 2005. You might want to revisit that and have Steve Jones change it for you.
I'll do that. It's been a long time since I've used SSMS 2005 so my memory was obviously fuzzy on that feature. I remember really appreciating it when it came out, then being disappointed when it didn't work as expected. Apparently the bug for not changing consistently was addressed in SQL 2008 R2 SP1 according to this Connect ticket: http://connect.microsoft.com/SQLServer/feedback/details/504418/ssms-make-color-coding-of-query-windows-work-all-the-time%5B/quote%5D
Thanks for the feedback and the link, Peter.
--Jeff Moden
RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally) -
I've submitted an update to the article to address:
* This feature starting with SQL 2008, not 2005
* A note on the fix for changing connections coming with SQL 2008R2 SP1.
* Another note for SQL Prompt only supporting tab colors on SSMS 2012.
Thanks to everyone who pointed out those items.
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Thanks for the tips.
Say you've RED (prod) and GREEN (DEV).
If you're, say in one of the (GREEN) database servers in the query Window and do a Ctrl +N and then change to a (RED) database server the color still remains in GREEN.
How else would you start the query Window if not for Ctrl + N? Any other short cuts? Thanks!
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Article says this is in SQLServer 2005, but I'm running that edition (still!) and I'm not seeing this as an option in Register Servers. Did you mean SQLServer 2008 maybe?
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MegaZord (9/17/2013)
Thanks for the tips.Say you've RED (prod) and GREEN (DEV).
If you're, say in one of the (GREEN) database servers in the query Window and do a Ctrl +N and then change to a (RED) database server the color still remains in GREEN.
How else would you start the query Window if not for Ctrl + N? Any other short cuts? Thanks!
The color not changing appropriately was fixed in SQL 2008R2 SP1. If you can install that version or higher of SSMS, the colors will be fixed. You can also right-click your database server (or a database) select the new query option, and open a window that way. I don't typically use any other shortcuts except Ctrl+N or right-clicking a server to get a query window.
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michelle-409778 (9/17/2013)
Article says this is in SQLServer 2005, but I'm running that edition (still!) and I'm not seeing this as an option in Register Servers. Did you mean SQLServer 2008 maybe?Michelle, that was my mistake. The colors for connections did not appear until SQL 2008. They started working correctly in SQL 2008R2 SP1. 🙂 If you're still on SQL 2005 tools, I highly recommend SSMS Tools Pack for connection colors. I think they actually work a bit better than the ones built-in to SSMS.
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🙁 never mind. I work for one of those big corporations which have a restricted list of software. If it's not on the list, I don't get it!! (Hence still on SQL2005). Never mind, I'll get upgraded eventually I guess.....
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aochss (9/17/2013)
Thanks for the tip. Learned two items today. Registration of servers and how to set colors.Has anyone tried the SSMS Tools pack add-in? Any stability issues with the add-in? The ability to search in the grid is alone worth the install. It would save the copy/paste into Word, Excel or notepad to do a search
Anton
Tried it and it was great
Unfortunately I uninstalled it as I thought it was causing issues, which it wasn't, and when I went to reinstall it group IT policy had changed and I no longer had install rights on my work desktop!
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Hello Peter, I wonder if you have heared about the tool, that I develop: SSMSBoost. I have extensively addressed "connection coloring" topic there:
(Full description is here: http://www.ssmsboost.com/Features/ssms-add-in-preferred-connections)
SSMSBoost allows to define colors per database or per whole server and monitors the current connection: as soon as it matches with any pre-defined one, the status bar gets appropriate color.
Additionally, it is possible to define "Important database alert": as soon as such database becomes active in SQL Editor window(for example live system), there is a tooltip displayed, attracting additional attention.
Here is the screenshot showing "importand db alert" (it can be placed at any part of the window):
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michelle-409778 (9/17/2013)
🙁 never mind. I work for one of those big corporations which have a restricted list of software. If it's not on the list, I don't get it!! (Hence still on SQL2005). Never mind, I'll get upgraded eventually I guess.....Well, if the SQL 2008R2 SP1 or SQL 2012 tools are on the list, you could try asking for those to make life a little better. Just the argument that you'd know more easily to what server you're connecting to avoid a costly mistake would be worth that install. 🙂
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