The SSMS team is delighted to announce the release of SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) 22 Preview 3. This latest preview is chock full of exiting new features and fixes. For the detailed list of everything we released, as well as download and installation instructions, check out our release notes. Let’s dive into some of the highlights!

Update to SSMS 22 Preview 3

Update to the latest version of SSMS 22 Preview by going to Help > Check for Updates or open the Visual Studio Installer to download and install the update. If you don’t have SSMS 22 Preview yet, you can learn more about downloading and installing it here.

Initial ARM64 Support

We are so excited to announce the initial support of ARM64 devices for SSMS 22 Preview! Like our approach to adding dark mode, ARM64 support for the various components of SSMS will come in phases. If you’re a Windows ARM64 user, you can now download, install, and use SSMS 22 Preview for scenarios like connecting and querying your databases. For a list of scenarios that are still unsupported, visit our known issues page.

We know this has been a long-standing request, dating back to the initial SSMS 21 Preview releases. We appreciate your support and patience as we continue to build out our ARM64 story for SSMS 22.

Introducing GitHub Copilot in SSMS (Preview)

After launching Copilot in SSMS (Preview) in SSMS 21, we received a lot of feedback about integrating with GitHub Copilot (read Erin’s previous blog post for more details about our decision making process and pivot!).

Today, we are thrilled to announce the launch of GitHub Copilot in SSMS (Preview) – a new Copilot experience with sidecar and inline chat, code assistance, and more to come. To get started using GitHub Copilot in SSMS, launch the Visual Studio Installer, select AI Assistance from the Workloads tab, and select Modify to download and install the component.

Installing the AI Assistance workload containing the GitHub Copilot in SSMS (Preview) component.

For a detailed breakdown of what’s new, be sure to visit Erin’s blog post and our documentation site.

Introducing the Query Hint Recommendation tool (Preview)

The Query Hint Recommendation tool, a component for SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), automates the identification of optimal query hints to enhance SQL query performance. This tool allows users to explore query hints for a given query while minimizing the need for manual trial and error.

The Query Hint Recommendation tool identifies optimal query hints for your SQL query..

The Query Hint Recommendation tool (Preview) works with a single query in the active query editor window. For step-by-step instructions, visit our documentation.  

Select your SQL query to start the Query Hint Recommendation tool.

SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) Reinstated

With SSMS 22 Preview 3, we are bringing back SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) capabilities, including SSISDB catalog management, automated execution of SSIS packages, the Import/Export Wizard, and Maintenance Plans. For a list of known issues, please visit our known issues page.

Bug Fixes in SSMS 22 Preview 3

The SSMS team has done an enormous amount of work for this Preview. In addition to all the new features we mentioned above, we’ve also resolved several bug and feedback items.

• Database Properties: Fixed an issue that blocked the ability to change compatibility level for users with ALTER permissions. See Database compatibility level drop down disabled but query works.
• Object Explorer and Results Grid: Resolved an issue that prevented direct scroll bar navigation from working properly. See Direct scroll bar navigation via Shift-click does not work for Object Explorer and Results Grid.
• Solution Explorer: Resolved an error that was generated when opening a folder that was closed but had files that were open. See SSMS 21 Preview – error while opening a folder in Windows 11.
• Status Bar: Reinstated line and column numbers in the status bar. See In SSMS21 I can’t find column number after clicking cell in grid results.

We hope you've been enjoying the latest SSMS 22 Preview. We can't wait to hear your feedback, comments, and suggestions. Thanks for being along for the ride!