SSMS - Add a custom button to toggle retaining CR/LF in output

Question

I'm using SSMS v17 and am hoping this is somehow doable.

In my SQL Server DB, I have many tables that have VARCHAR fields that have, within them, CR/LF characters (multi-line text).

I know there is the setting in Tools > Options > Query Results > SQL Server > Results To Grid for Retain CR/LF on copy or save and I find myself often having to toggle that on / off since, if I always leave it on, I can get bad outcomes when I try and copy from the grid into Excel if there are CR/LF characters, but, other times, I just want the data from a specific row and want to copy that VARCHAR with its included line-breaks, so then I need to toggle it back on, otherwise, I end up getting the cell's value as one, long line (line-feeds are removed).

So, the solution I'd love (but I'm VERY open to other suggestions if there are any) is to have a custom toolbar button for that specific command so I can toggle it much more easily than having to go into the menu bar each time.

My challenge is that I'm not finding that command in the list when I try and customize the toolbar. Does it exist or is there another way to associate a toggle-button to that command? Or, as I saidm I'm very open to other suggestions if anyone has any.

Thanks!!

Answer 1

SSMS Boost has that functionality. Copy cell data from Results Grid 1:1 (preserving line breaks)

SSMSBoost introduces "Copy current cell 1:1" command:

select cell you want to view/copy, open context menu -> "Copy current cell 1:1" and full data will be copied to clipboard - all bytes and without any modifications.

And the second one is: Copy Results Grid data to Excel (as xml Spreadsheet)

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SSMS Tools Pack also has similar capability Feature: Export To Excel:

This feature does not require Excel to be installed and creates a fully functional XLSX Excel file. Export all result sets, one or multiple tables or a whole database to Excel.

Saving the best for last, the characters like newlines and tabs are fully preserved and properly exported into correct cells.