SQL Server 2008 Management Studio Trick

I had a database selected in the Object Explorer window and I had the Object Explorer Details window open. I noticed a little icon at the bottom of the screen:



Then I saw that the bar above it was a moveable bar. So I moved it and saw this:



Whoa! So then I tried a table, HumanResources.Department from AdventureWorks2008:



Which caused me to check a procedure:




Each line has a little icon on the side that lets you copy it, line by line. It’s really just a way to display the basic properties about the object in a readily accessible format. It’s not going to change my life, or yours, but it sure is handy to know a quick way to access some basic information.

F4 is also a lot more handy in SSMS these days than it used to be. My favorite is when you hit F4 after clicking on a node in a graphical execution plan. But it works for several other things as well, including tables, procedures, etc. And doesn’t make you keep object explorer details open (which causes some problems of its own, at least pre-CU3).