Tuesday, 25 March 2014

Sql Server Data Tools Issues


So, there I was beavering away on a Monday morning scoping some changes for some new work for a client. I have recently had a new super quick desktop built for me with Windows 8 (bygones) and all of the usual development tools installed. Visual Studio 2012 is currently our tool of choice twinned with in this instance Sql Server 2012.
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In the midst of my scoping I came across some database stored procedures being referenced that I felt unclear about exactly how they achieved their goal. I decided to investigate further by examining the SQL scripts that we keep within our project solution as a matter of course. So I double clicked to open the files as you do and…

Hmm, not what I was expecting to see.

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As I previously stated I have recently had a new machine built for me, Visual Studio 2012 and SQL Server 2012 already pre-installed  and I was not expecting such a broken installation. I tried again and did a few more investigations like trying to creating a database project, nope all broken. So I resorted to my most excellent friend, Google, and after a little research here  found that I needed to ensure that my SSDT was up to date. The article spoke about a ‘Check For Updates’ menu item being available from my SQL menu. OK, this was the first clue as I had no SQL menu! I thus downloaded the latest SSDT installation and ran the installation program.

What do you know, it now all works!

I hope this helps.

Written by Conrad Rowlands, Senior Systems Architect and Developer, DSCallards