MicrosoftWhen do you plan to implement really important features?
- Better filtering in Object Explorer, i.e. universal filter field just below database name, which is easy to use, works with a simple input and "Enter" without a complex additional "Filter Settings" window. Imagine now if you need to find a table, or maybe a view (you only have a name) in a large database. You first try using "Filter Settings" in Tables node only to discover that there's no such table and you've been given a view name, so you go to "Filter Settings" in Views and repeat. In the end, you abandon all this ... and go to manually query sys.objects to discover what type of object is it, and only then go back to Object Explorer, open "Filter Settings" again, fill some fields, and click OK. Is it still 1995? Does SSMS need to be as clumsy as a typical ERP system? Couldn't we just have a simple input boxes that populates asynchronously for all types of objects, with the ability to cancel search when we found what we wanted?... For users opposing the feature, it could be enabled/disabled in SSMS options - if you don't want it, don't use it, but I do really want it on a daily basis, losing countless hours with this ... "Filter Settings". This is the work of GUI, it's a shame that I have to resort to querying system metadata objects when I have a GUI that advertises as being friendly.
- Fix Object Explorer hanging the whole SSMS during clicking/expanding nodes when there's a long metadata action in progress in another tab (e.g. index rebuild).
- In SQL Agent, in a job step, make the "command" text box use a fixed-width font with a bigger size than currently. Ideally it should be the same editor which is in the "New query" tab, with syntax highlighting enabled if the job step is T-SQL.
- Proper version control support for user queries and database objects.
- GUI for Service Broker object creation and separate for broker monitoring. Yes, it's used in many companies, many places and configurations, and we still don't have any insights into it after all these years.
- GUI for easy table partition creation, deletion, repartitioning, monitoring. The method of creation partitioned tables in SQL Server is the most difficult amongst all relational engines, includes partition functions, partition schemes, without a simple fallback to CREATE TABLE ... PARTITION BY .... Therefore a graphical aid would be helpful for many admins. Also, in the table properties, no breakdown of storage by partition - after all those years we still to query sys.partitions, because the GUI doesn't help us in any way.
Hope it sheds some light on real struggles of some of your users.
It looks like in MS there's just 1 person working on the features, no wonder that SSMS has stagnated and even simple dark theme is a challenging task. Or the code is convoluted to the point nothing can be added/changed in it.
