20 years of productivity tips - a love letter to SSMS

Short 20 minute session for SQLBits 2026

TL; DR

In this 20-minute love letter to SQL Server Management Studio, I'll share the most important productivity tips and some lesser-known features that you may have missed. We’ll look at keyboard shortcuts, editing tricks, version control, some practical development and debugging features, even a couple of brand-new tricks introduced in SSMS 22.

Session Details

If you spend two decades working in SSMS like I have, you’re inevitably going to develop a couple of hacks. In this 20-minute love letter to SQL Server Management Studio, I want to share the most important productivity tips and some lesser-known features that you may have missed.

We’ll look at keyboard shortcuts, editing tricks, version control, some practical development and debugging features, even a couple of brand-new tricks introduced in SSMS 22. The goal? To allow you to do the same work with fewer keystrokes and less hassle.