Management Studio, shortcut for False/True editing the results pane

[Database Administrator]

Hi, we just upgraded to SQL Server 2005 and I have a minor issue hand-
editing data in SQL Server Management Studio object query results as
I'm accustomed to in Enterprise Manger. That is that the new
interface (which also allows an initial arbitrary query only in "New
View", not off a table) apparently obliges me to type "True" or
"False" to set a Boolean column. Used to be 0 and 1. I'd've written
one that accepts 0, 1, T, F, Y, and N as operator input, but noooo.

Still present but not documented(?) is the option to set NULL by
keyboard Ctrl Zero. You also can type the word "NULL" in caps to make
NULL. This implies that you can't use this interface to store the
word "NULL" on its own, but how often do you do that anyway... only as
a practical joke on another database administrator :-)

I have a keyboard issue so "True" and "False" is really bugging me, is
there an alternative? I could press buttons randomly to find a
shortcut but would you do that??

So , please?

I do have ideas:

(1) Speech recognition, or

(2) Toolbar buttons to launch an external program that types the word
"True" or "False" into the application. I have such a program -
"AutoHotkey", free download. Its main act in fact is to hang around
and substitute text that you type, and it can be context-sensitive,
but that can be fiddly to set up if I want say to make ^ and & type
true/false only when appropriate. On the other hand, I could make it
one button that runs a program that toggles true-false, probably...and
can I have shortcut keys for toolbar buttons?

[Database Administrator]

I will agree that this is very annoying and has been a relatively warm topic
since SQL Server 2005 was first put into beta. Unfortunately it still works
that way in the SQL Server 2008 tools and there isn't much indication that
they're going to fix in in the version after that either (they don't seem to
think anything is broken).

http://connect.microsoft.com/SQL/fee...edbackID=12458
4

http://connect.microsoft.com/SQL/fee...edbackID=33029
3

http://connect.microsoft.com/SQL/fee...edbackID=26459
2

You have some crafty workaround but they seem very cumbersome to me. I
don't really approve of open table for editing data anyway; maybe you could
make an Access project with linked tables and edit the data there, or write
a quick web or win form front end that translates 0 and 1 correctly, or
simply use proper DML (INSERT/UPDATE) statements in a query window.





On 11/10/08 10:46 AM, in article
6a145cac-1ada-4bba-8f09-28e414e8adfc...oglegroups.com, "Robert
Carnegie" wrote:

> Hi, we just upgraded to SQL Server 2005 and I have a minor issue hand-
> editing data in SQL Server Management Studio object query results as
> I'm accustomed to in Enterprise Manger. That is that the new
> interface (which also allows an initial arbitrary query only in "New
> View", not off a table) apparently obliges me to type "True" or
> "False" to set a Boolean column. Used to be 0 and 1. I'd've written
> one that accepts 0, 1, T, F, Y, and N as operator input, but noooo.
>
> Still present but not documented(?) is the option to set NULL by
> keyboard Ctrl Zero. You also can type the word "NULL" in caps to make
> NULL. This implies that you can't use this interface to store the
> word "NULL" on its own, but how often do you do that anyway... only as
> a practical joke on another database administrator :-)
>
> I have a keyboard issue so "True" and "False" is really bugging me, is
> there an alternative? I could press buttons randomly to find a
> shortcut but would you do that??
>
> So , please?
>
> I do have ideas:
>
> (1) Speech recognition, or
>
> (2) Toolbar buttons to launch an external program that types the word
> "True" or "False" into the application. I have such a program -
> "AutoHotkey", free download. Its main act in fact is to hang around
> and substitute text that you type, and it can be context-sensitive,
> but that can be fiddly to set up if I want say to make ^ and & type
> true/false only when appropriate. On the other hand, I could make it
> one button that runs a program that toggles true-false, probably...and
> can I have shortcut keys for toolbar buttons?

[Database Administrator]

On Nov 10, 5:01*pm, Aaron Bertrand wrote:
> I will agree that this is very annoying and has been a relatively warm topic
> since SQL Server 2005 was first put into beta. *Unfortunately it still works
> that way in the SQL Server 2008 tools and there isn't much indication that
> they're going to fix in in the version after that either (they don't seemto
> think anything is broken).
>
> http://connect.microsoft.com/SQL/fee...aspx?FeedbackI...
> 4
>
> http://connect.microsoft.com/SQL/fee...aspx?FeedbackI...
> 3
>
> http://connect.microsoft.com/SQL/fee...aspx?FeedbackI...
> 2
>
> You have some crafty workaround but they seem very cumbersome to me. *I
> don't really approve of open table for editing data anyway; maybe you could
> make an Access project with linked tables and edit the data there, or write
> a quick web or win form front end that translates 0 and 1 correctly, or
> simply use proper DML (INSERT/UPDATE) statements in a query window.

Which is not cumbersome at all... I respect your opinion, but the
tool is there to be used, what's wrong with that? ;-) (I suspect you
can answer extensively...)

Actually, since apparently I have to solve this myself (which is what
I wanted to know), the external macro scripting tool isn't cumbersome
in relation to its power. But there's a catch I don't know how to get
around or switch off (please?), with putting it on the toolbar as an
external command or external tool: apparently, running an external
tool prompts Management Studio to save the contents of other project /
query windows, which is likely to be not what I want to have happen,
because of certain script habits. (See this for instance if you set
up Notepad.exe as an external tool.)

Well, one answer to that is to launch my thing from outside Management
Studio, for instance in the Windows XP Quick Launch toolbar next to
the Start menu. Another is to program it the way that AutoHotkey is
designed to be used, waiting for you to type a special key sequence or
some other trigger (say ttt and fff). I feel it's untidy to keep a
script loaded all the time in /case/ I want it, but I don't want to be
perverse. (But I have two going already...) And my Quick Launch
already is too well stocked for the name to be strictly accurate ;-)

Here's the slightly fancy effort: a script in AutoHotkey language that
saves clipboard, then copies the current cell, then changes the copy
to "True" unless it /was/ "True", in which case "False", then pastes
it back. So you run the same program to change NULL or False to True,
and to change True to False. AutoHotkey makes it quite easy to do
sneaky stuff like this, if you can dig the freaky syntax. I believe
it was written by gam3rz. ;-)


; Saved as TrueFalse.ahk
; Copy the current cell in Management Studio Results, toggle True/
False

; Store previous clipboard contents
;
ClipSaved := ClipboardAll
Clipboard :=

; select current field and copy to clipboard
;
Send, ^a^c
ClipWait ; until not empty

; If content is the word "True" then make "False" else make "True"
;
IfEqual, Clipboard, True ; the word "True", not case sensitive
{
Clipboard = False
}
Else
{
Clipboard = True
}

; Paste
;
Send, ^v

; Restore previous clipboard
;
Clipboard := ClipSaved
ClipSaved =