SQL Server 2012 has built-in Intellisense, ApexSQL Complete takes Intellisense to next level.
It available as a Free Tool and its one of the best Free Tools available for SQL Server in market.
Its available for download in this below link
http://www.apexsql.com/sql_tools_complete.aspx
The download also includes all the tools from ApexSQL Developer Studio (15 Developer Tools, 3 of them are Freely available)
The installation process is quite simple
You can by default install all the products and try them for Free
or pick ApexSQL Complete 2012
Once the install is complete, Please launch SQL Server 2012 Management Studio,
ApexSQL Complete menu has the following options
Please click on “Enable Auto-complete” to use ApexSQL Complete instead of built-in Intellisense
You can open a new Query window and start typing the query and you can activate the Intellisense by pressing Ctrl + Space
You can choose the columns which you want to be included in Query and If you noticed, It automatically add Alias to the Table name automatically as well, which will be very helpful for complex queries and using in joins.
Also when you select a table, you can see the CREATE Script for the table as well and you have option to “Copy” the script as well
ApexSQL Complete also check your query as you type and shows them in “Error List” window
ApexSQL Complete Error List window works similar to Visual Studio Error List window, double clicking on the Error takes you to the exact Line and Column so that you can easily fix it
ApexSQL Code Structure
This is one of the most powerful feature I liked in ApexSQL which is not available in any of the other competitive production
It parses your SQL code and display the Code Structure as Tree, so that you can easily navigate the code and click and move to the preferred statement easily.
ApexSQL Complete Options
General Options
The following are the different options available under General section, but I would like to highlight the “Decrypt Encrypted Objects”
The below view “dbo.vwAddress_Enc” is an encrypted view
Since I have enabled the Decrypt option, ApexSQL Complete is able to show the definition of the Encrypted View, so that I can copy the script
Insert Options
Hints Options
If you don’t want to see System tables or views in the Intellisense list, you can deselect it using “System Tables” option, similarly you can customize the other hints too
Aliases Options
ApexSQL Complete by default create aliases for tables or views selected from Intellisense window, but if you want use your own custom defined Alias, you can define them here
I have created an alias named “Emp” for the Employee table, when I write the query, now the ApexSQL Complete Intellisense window displays the Alias on top
When you select the Alias, it automatically fills the referenced object name
Schema Cache Options
Here you can see the currently cached Database and its object counts, you can select them and right click and Delete or Refresh them
Snippet Manager
Using Snippet Manager, You can modify the existing Snippet and customize them or you can add new Snippets as well
Also after doing the customization, You can Export the options and share with your colleagues, and they can import and use the Snippets you created or use the same Aliases you have created.
ApexSQL Developer Studio also has the following products available for free as well
1. ApexSQL Search
2. ApexSQL Refactor
I hope you find this information useful !!! Have fun coding using ApexSQL Complete !!!
SQLXpertise 