Announcing the Release of SSMS 21 Preview 6

Today the SQL Tools team is happy to announce the release of SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) 21 Preview 6. If you’ve got update notifications turned on, you should get a message that there is a new update available. If you don’t see anything, head to Help > Check for Updates to find the latest version. If you don’t have the preview yet, learn more about how to download and install SSMS 21 Preview.  

The team packed lots of awesome stuff into this Preview release and we can’t wait for you to try it out. Some highlights include:

• The introduction of the migration component (preview)
• The introduction of the modern connection dialog (preview)
• The return of presenter mode
• Bug fixes from SSMS Developer Community reported items

Of course, our release notes are a great way to get a detailed summary of what's new in each release. 

Migration component (preview)

The migration component (preview) can help you with migrating SQL Server versions or cross-platform databases. It runs compatibility checks, identified issues, and runs a feature parity check. The component generates an assessment report that helps you understand potential impacts, possible causes, and remediation steps. It can also physically migrate your database, following the backup-copy-restore technology to move data from the source to the target. To learn more about the migration component (preview), be sure to check out this blog post and our documentation. 

To install the migration component (preview), head to the Visual Studio Installer. If you're downloading SSMS 21 Preview for the first time, you can find it under the Individual Components tab. If you already have SSMS 21 Preview on your machine, as you're updating to Preview 6, you can open the Visual Studio Installer, select Modify, and go to Individual Components. 

Modern connection dialog (preview)

We are excited to unveil a new connection dialog experience - the Modern connection dialog (preview) for connecting to SQL Server database engines! Our design was informed by user feedback we've collected and inspired by the new look and feel of the SSMS 21 Preview. We've made improvements to the way recent connections are displayed, moved frequently used fields to the main connection properties section, and added the ability to pin up to 10 of your favorite connection profiles for easy access. There are even more features coming in future previews (including dark mode, cloud resource browsing, and support for registered servers). We'd love to hear your feedback on the new design and how it's working for you!

You can enable this experience two ways: when you first open SSMS 21 Preview 6, a pop up will ask if you'd like to enable it. If you dismiss the pop up, or want to try it out later, you can navigate to Tools > Options > Environment > Connection Dialog and select Modern from the drop down menu. To go back to the Classic connection dialog experience, you can do so at any time by navigating to Tools > Options > Environment > Connection Dialog and select Classic from the drop down menu. 

At this time, the Modern connection dialog (preview) only supports connection to SQL Server database engines. If you need to connect to SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) or SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS), select Connect from Object Explorer (this will bring up the Classic connection dialog, even if you have the Modern connection dialog (preview) enabled) or switch your connection dialog experience back to Classic in the Tools > Options menu. 

Note: The SQL Tools team has received reports of an error message that can pop up when enabling the Modern connection dialog (preview). We are aware of the issue and investigating a fix. For the time being, this error can be ignored by selecting OK. 

Presenter mode

With SSMS 21 Preview 6, we've reinstated presenter mode and given it a home in the View menu. Presenter mode allows you to enlarge and customize your environment font to help increase readability when sharing your SSMS screen in a presentation. To turn presenter mode on or off, select View > Presenter Mode > Toggle Presenter Mode or use the keyboard command Ctrl+Shift+F5. You can customize your presenter mode settings in View > Presenter Mode > Edit Presenter Mode Settings. 

Bug fixes from the SSMS Developer Community

In February we launched a new way to leave feedback: the SSMS Developer Community. We love how many feedback and suggestion tickets the community has created! In this preview release, we addressed several items: 

• Code Search Feature does not open file
• In SQL Server Management Studio 21 Preview 5 windows created from right click new query option don't get focus
• Missing recent files on Windows pinned taskbar icon
• Open Terminal Windows Error

Please keep the feedback coming - your suggestions play a huge role in how we shape the future of SSMS. 

Phew! That was a lot of updates. We really hope you enjoy Preview 6, and that you're enjoying the SSMS 21 Preview overall. Thanks for reading, and we can't wait to hear from you!