Express Manager / Management Studio Express

When will the express manager be available for the msdn version that is scheduled to ship later this month. If express manager isn't going to ship then what tool will allow me to create users in my express 2005 database.I'm wondering that also. I think I heard something about MS dropping Express Manager.|||We've dropped Express Manager. Instead, you can download and use SQL Server Management Studio Express to manage your Express servers. SSMSE is a subest of the full Management Studio tailored for SQL Server Express functionality. SSMSE can also connect to uplevel SQL Server 2005 servers, SQL Server 2000 servers, and MSDE 2000 servers.

You can download it from MSDN here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/sql/ Look for the "Free Management Tool" paragraph on the page. It has a link to the Management Studio Express download page.

A few things to be aware of:

First, Management Studio Express is currently a Community Technology Preview, so there are still a few minor defects that remain to be fixed before it formally ships in the first half of 2006. If you use SSMSE, you can use this MSDN Forum to provide feedback. Issues raised on these forums have added weight with the dev team when it comes to prioritizing changes.

Second, Management Studio Express cannot run side-by-side with SQL Server 2005 Management Studio. SSMSE is supposed to have an error message that pops up telling you to use Management Studio if it detects the full product on your machine, but this appears to be broken for many people, for whom nothing happens at all when the try to start Management Studio Express on machines that have a version of the full Management Studio installed.|||Thanks for the info and the link!|||After reading a number of posts and trying out SSMSE, I would have to say that you have done an excellent job on 2005.

Dave
Retired SQL Sever DBA with 35+ years experience|||

Hi there.

I have just installed the Express editions of VB and SQL.However, I can't seem to find an IDE for SQL Server. I have been able to create a database through VB, but not directly in SQL Express as there is no way into a UI. Is this normal?

I would like to create and manage databases independently of VB and VWD and then connect to them in the way it was probably done before 2005. Is this possible? Do I have to install the SQL Server Management Studio Express (SSMSE)?

Many thanks in advance,

Chris

By the way, very impressed with the whole Express Edition initiative and with the tools themselves. It's a brave move. Well done to all involved. I'm sure these editions will help to ensure .NET dominance over other technologies for years to come.

|||You will want to download and install SSMSE. Here's a link to the November CTP of SSMSE. It will allow you to run SQL scripts to create, manage and query databases.|||

That's great. Thanks for your help.

Chris

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I downloaded and tried Management Studio Express because I need a substitute for Query Analyzer for users to run adhoc queries and save the results to files. This looks good, but is is a Community Technology Preview November 2005 version and it states that it is an unsupported pre-release version. Is there a RTM version available? If not will there be one? Can I give this to power users as a substitute for the Query Analyzer?

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There is no RTM version of Management Studio Express yet. We do plan to release a final version soon.

Management Studio is intended to be a replacement for Query Analyzer 2000 and SQL Enterprise Manager 2000, so it should be appropriate for your power users.

Regards,

Steve

|||Thanks Steve. Is there any target date yet for the RTM version of Management Studio Express? I need something very soon for a production system.