We’re excited to share that SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) 21.5.14 is now available!

This release brings a few highly-requested updates to the Modern Connection Dialog (preview) and many other experience improvements. As always, you can check out the full list of fixes and known issues in our release notes, but let’s dive into the highlights.

How to get the latest version of SSMS 21

Update to the latest version of SSMS 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 21 yet, you can learn more about downloading and installing it here.

Modify your installation of SSMS 21.5.14 in the Visual Studio Installer

Modern Connection Dialog (preview) updates

We think of the Connection Dialog as the “front door” to SSMS. It’s the first thing you see when you want to connect, so it needs to be fast, flexible, and easy to use. In this release, we’ve made several improvements to help you get connected more smoothly.

Custom connection properties

You can now add custom names to your connection profiles. These friendly names show up in Object Explorer and your connection history, making it much easier to tell your connections apart at a glance.

Advanced properties

We’ve added an Always Encrypted section to the advanced properties menu to make AE configuration easier. The new advanced properties menu also supports Dark Mode and other color themes.

Connection string copy/paste

Sometimes you just want to skip the fields and drop in a connection string. Now you can! Paste a connection string into the dialog, select Apply, and we’ll validate it while auto-filling the other fields.

Pro tip: if you select a recent connection, the Connection string tab doubles as a handy connection string builder – perfect for copying and sharing with teammates.

Paste a connection string to connect, now available in the Modern Connection Dialog (preview)!

Browsing registered servers

Registered servers let you save and organize connections to multiple SQL Server instances, making it easier to quickly reconnect and manage. Previously, registered server browsing was only available from the View > Registered Servers menu, but we are happy to share that we’ve added them to the Browse tab of the connection dialog!  

Now in the Browse tab: you can explore your Registered Servers!

Bug fixes in 21.5.14

When we say we look at the feedback site on a regular basis, we mean it! This release is chock-full of bug fixes, nearly all of them coming from the SSMS Developer Community site. A few updates of note:

• Fixed a bug in Object Explorer Details that threw errors when selecting multiple objects and right-clicking, or when trying to create a script.
• Updated IntelliSense so the ‘USE’ statement correctly changes database context.
• Fixed an issue where choosing “New Query” from a Central Management Server opened queries against all registered servers (instead of the CMS server).
• Restored the Tabify/Untabify options in the Edit > Advanced menu.
• Fixed a bug where copying from the results grid also included the header row.

It is so special to work on a product with such an enthusiastic and engaged community. We are incredibly grateful for the time that folks take to submit detailed feedback and troubleshooting steps.

We know many of you spend hours a day in SSMS, and our goal is to make that experience smoother, faster, and more enjoyable. We can’t wait to hear what you think of these updates, so please keep the feedback coming!