This article details updates, improvements, and bug fixes for the current and previous versions of SQL Server Management Studio 21 Preview.
Note
In December 2021, releases of SSMS prior to 18.6 will no longer authenticate to Database Engines through Microsoft Entra multifactor authentication (MFA).
To continue utilizing MFA, you need SSMS 18.6 or later.
Connectivity to Azure Analysis Services through Microsoft Entra multifactor authentication requires SSMS 18.5.1 or later.
Current SQL Server Management Studio 21 preview release
Added the -A option to specify the authentication method to use when connecting from the command line. Accepted values are authentication types from SqlAuthenticationMethod supported by SSMS. The –G (use Entra ID authentication) and –E (use Windows Authentication) options are now deprecated and will be removed in a later version.
Connection
When you connect to a server from command line parameters, SSMS displays a prompt to confirm the connection and parameters.
Addressed an issue that created duplicate entries in the Add New Item dialog when configuring a Project in the Solution Explorer.
Find
Resolved issue with Find in Files when searching in text results, accessed through Edit > Find and Replace > Find in Files, or with CTRL + F. See Support find in SSMS 21 text results window.
Import/Export Data-Tier Application
Updated the file and log location to use default instead of master database location during a bacpac import.
Object Explorer
Addressed an issue that incorrectly displayed Vector data type columns.
Query Editor
Resolved an issue where characters in the range of 160-191 were displayed with a strikethrough.
21.0 Preview 4.1
Release number: 21.0 Preview 4.1
Build number: 21.0.85
Release date: February 24, 2025
What's new in 21.0 Preview 4.1
Feature
Details
Visual Studio
Updated to Visual Studio 17.14 Preview 1.1.
21.0 Preview 4
Release number: 21.0 Preview 4
Build number: 21.0.85
Release date: February 11, 2025
What's new in 21.0 Preview 4
Feature
Details
Account Authentication
Added theme support for Account picker.
File
Reinstated the ability to create projects (File > New > Project or Solution...) and view recent projects (File > Open > Project/Solution...).
Help
Enabled support for Developer Community feedback, accessed from Help > Send Feedback > Report a Problem/Suggest a Feature/My Feedback.
IntelliSense
Added support for JSON_CONTAINS built-in functions.
Updated the default Code Snippets folder location to be major-version specific (%USERPROFILE%\Documents\SQL Server Management Studio 21\Code Snippets\SQL\My Code Snippets).
Query Store
Added theme support for Plan Id box and toolbar dropdown lists in Query Store reports.
Intellisense
Added support for VECTOR data type.
Visual Studio
Updated to Visual Studio 17.13 Preview 3.
Bug fixes in 21.0 Preview 3
Feature
Details
Always Encrypted
Addressed an issue where the default constraint was removed after performing in-place encryption in the Always Encrypted Wizard.
Connection
Updated the database Connection Properties dialog to show the correct authentication method.
Updated the "Microsoft Software License Terms" link in the Visual Studio Install splash screen to direct to the SSMS 21 license.
Query Plans
Updated operator Property dialog to correctly display Columns With Stale Statistics warning.
Query Store
Improved readability for Plan Id text in the Top Resource Consuming Queries report for High Contrast Mode.
Security
Added the ability to assign a new user to a database login from the user properties dialog.
Security
Corrected size of "Add" button on the Login Properties dialog.
SQL Agent
Removed unsupported SQL Agent features for Azure SQL Managed Instance including targets, multi-server administration, and Operator pager options.
21.0 Preview 2.1
Release number: 21.0 Preview 2.1
Build number: 21.0.73
Release date: December 18, 2024
What's new in 21.0 Preview 2.1
Feature
Details
Visual Studio
Updated to Visual Studio 17.13 Preview 2.1.
21.0 Preview 2
Release number: 21.0 Preview 2
Build number: 21.0.73
Release date: December 10, 2024
What's new in 21.0 Preview 2
Feature
Details
Accessibility
Improved accessibility in the View Designer.
Always Encrypted
Introduced the capability to generate new keys within the Always Encrypted Wizard that are securely stored in Azure Key Vault Managed HSM (Hardware Security Model).
Always Encrypted
Improved performance of the New Column Master Key dialog.
Azure Authentication
Introduced the ability to select a tenant within an Azure subscription. Tenant selection is available in dialogs such as creating a new firewall rule, using the Azure Storage browser, and selecting a container for backup to, or restore from, URL.
Connection
Updated strict encryption label to Strict (Minimum SQL 2022 or Azure SQL) in the Encryption dropdown list on the connection dialog.
Query Editor
Intellisense errors are updated to map to the IntelliSense dropdown list in the Error List pane. The Error List pane is available from the View > Error List menu or by selecting the error icon in the file health indicator, located in the bottom left of the Query Editor toolbar.
Settings
Changed default startup option for SSMS back to Open Object Explorer, within Tools > Options > Startup.
Settings
Removed the Preview entry from the Tools > Options Experience (requires restart) menu, as SSMS doesn't currently support Preview Unified settings.
Theming
Added dark theme support to tabs and icons in the Results pane of the Query Editor, and to the script splitter bar.
Theming
Added dark theme support to the query and plan panes within Query Store reports.
Visual Studio
Updated to Visual Studio 17.13 Preview 2.
Bug fixes in 21.0 Preview 2
Feature
Details
Always Encrypted
Renamed Encrypt Column to Always Encrypted Wizard in the Object Explorer context menu.
Always Encrypted
Introduced status Completed With Warnings for the Always Encrypted Wizard.
Resolved error "Couldn't load file or assembly 'Microsoft.DataWarehouse, Version=16.2.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=89845dcd8080cc91' or one of its dependencies. The system can't find the file specified." when trying to filter in Object Explorer. See SSMS 21 Preview 1 - Right-click "Filter settings" does not work.
Object Explorer
Removed the overlapped display new object name and original object name when renaming an object in Object Explorer.
Query Plans
Resolved behavior where selecting showplan XML in the results grid opened the plan as XML instead of the graphical display.
Query Store Reports
Fixed problem where changes to configuration in the Tracked Queries report weren't retained.
Query Store Reports
Implemented sizing restrictions for the Configuration dialog to prevent a degraded display.
Scripting
Addressed a problem where the updated value for Auto Create Incremental Statistics wasn't included when scripting the change for Azure SQL Database.
Scripting
Removed USE Database Name syntax when generating scripts for users in Azure SQL Database.
Settings
Fixed issue where importing settings on a non-English Operating System (OS) generated an error.
Settings
Removed CodeLens from Tools > Options > Text Editor > All Languages.
Settings
Removed duplicate and irrelevant entries from Tools > Options > Text Editor > File Extensions.
Theming
Resolved an issue where the Messages tab in the Results pane wouldn't pick up a theme change until SSMS was restarted.
Theming
Improved handling of NULL cells in the results grid.
Theming
Fixed incorrect theming for Extended Events context menus.
Theming
Improved themed support for Recently Used Templates in Template Explorer.
Theming
Improved theme support in the Messages tab of the results pane.
Theming
Addressed issue where the results window would show as white until the results appeared with dark theme enabled.
21.0 Preview 1
Release number: 21.0 Preview 1
Build number: 21.0.47
Release date: November 12, 2024
What's new in 21.0 Preview 1
Feature
Details
64-bit
SSMS 21 is a Visual Studio 2022-based application that supports 64-bit, ensuring smoother operations and reducing out-of-memory errors.
Always Encrypted
An assessment for Always Encrypted is available in the wizard. It can be found under the Always Encrypted Wizard menu (formerly named Encrypt Columns...) after right-clicking a database and selecting Tasks. For more information, see Always Encrypted Assessment in SQL Server Management Studio 21.
Azure Authentication
Azure Authentication encompasses a subset of dialogs where authentication to Azure is required. Examples of these dialogs include adding an Azure firewall rule, configuring the Service Level Objective (SLO) when creating an Azure database, and the Azure storage browser.
Azure SQL Database
Introduced UI support for creating logins and database users.
Dark theme
SSMS 21 supports dark theme for selected dialogs, including Object Explorer, Query Editor, Results pane, and Template Explorer.
Database Properties
Added a page to list Database Scoped Configuration values on the Database Properties dialog.
Drivers
Updated Microsoft.Data.SqlClient (MDS) to version 5.1.6.
Git
Support for Git integration returns in SSMS 21 to support the growing emphasis on CI/CD, which can be found in the Git menu. Select Settings to configure options specific to Git. The Git integration allows developers and database administrators to track, manage, and collaborate on SQL scripts seamlessly within the SSMS environment, including support for creating and cloning repositories and creating and managing branches.
Introduced support for SSMS in Czech, Polish, and Turkish.
Libraries
Updated Azure.Core to version 1.41.0.
Libraries
Updated DacFx to version 162.4.92.
Libraries
Updated Server Management Objects (SMO) to version 17.100.52.
Libraries
Updated System.Text.Json to version 8.0.4.
Query Editor
The scroll bar for the query editor in SSMS 21 defaults to map mode. To change the option, right-click the scroll bar and select Scroll Bar Options.... Within the Options dialog, you can change the display to Use bar mode for vertical scroll bar.
Query Store
The Query Store reports feature a Replica dropdown list, allowing users to view Query Store data across various replica sets or roles. For more information, see sys.query_store_replicas to understand the current association between a replica and its role. When the Query Store for secondary replicas feature is enabled, data populates exclusively for roles that are deployed and designated as replicas.
Introduced integrated terminal access from the View menu to support writing and executing command line and PowerShell commands.
User Interface
The updated SSMS interface has a refreshed, modernized design optimized for a streamlined experience that integrates with high-DPI displays. The new design includes updated icons, a modern dark theme, and customizable layouts to suit your preferences.
Visual Studio
Updated to Visual Studio 17.13 Preview 1.
Bug fixes in 21.0 Preview 1
Feature
Details
Azure SQL Database
Addressed issue of SSMS hanging when trying to connect to an Azure SQL Database that was deleted.
Azure SQL Database
Resolved the problem of SSMS becoming inaccessible when a user doesn't have permissions to access all the databases on a logical server.
Azure SQL Database
Fixed the behavior of SSMS hanging and generating the error "An error occurred while changing the current database." The error occurs when an invalid database name is entered in the database name dropdown list for the editor window.
Azure SQL Managed Instance
Removed the ability to select an alternate option for Login auditing within the Server Properties dialog.
Azure SQL Managed Instance
Removed the ability to configure the number of error log files in the Configure SQL Server Error Logs dialog.
Central Management Server
Added ability to save the Trust Server Certificate connection option.
You can reference the SSMS Developer Community site for other known issues (filter on Tooling under Groups) and to provide feedback to the product team.
SQL Server