Is there a way to favorite or star frequently-used tables in SSMS 2012?

Question

80-90% of the time I spend in SQL Server Management Studio is spent dealing with the same 5 or 6 tables/views/stored procedures, out of the 100+ in some databases.

It would be wonderfully helpful if there were a quick way to access those few through the GUI, instead of having to scroll all around and toggle the Tables/Views/Programmability folders day in and day out.

In my mind, I'm picturing a favorites or starred tables feature or section, or maybe just a recent tables menu would be a great timesaver.

Is this a feature buried somewhere in SSMS or available in a plug-in?

Answer 1

I can think of two ways that may help get you to the right objects in the SSMS Object Explorer. Both are SSMS addins.

1) Use the free SQL Search - when you need to locate an object, press Ctrl-Alt-D, type the name of the object, arrow down until you highlight the object, and press Enter. I will suggest to the SQL Search project team the idea to have a "recently used" list of objects as I think this could be a nice addition to the tool.

2) Use SQL Treeo to create your own custom folders in the Object Explorer tree. You can create a folder to put the objects you use most frequently, which could help avoid scrolling through a large list of irrelevant objects.