Copy SSMS Templates

If you use Templates in SQL Management studio to store your own code snippets, or team code templates, you may be reluctant to upgrade your machine or version of SSMS for fearing of losing access to them.

While there isn't an export / import function within management studio, you can manually copy over your template files for your new SSMS.

 

SQL stores these under the hidden “AppData” folder in the Users directory, so you may need to turn on "display hidden files/folders" to see them.

 

for SQL 2008 you can find the templates under:

C:\Users\GRUMPY.DBA\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server\100\Tools\Shell\Templates\Sql

 

Note that SQL 2008 copies all the default templates here as well, but you should be able to find your own custom templates in here (especially as you are probably already using a '-' as the first character of your folders to force it to appear at the top of the Template Explorer already aren't you?!).

Now just copy them to the same location on your new machine.

 

Alternatively, if you have installed a funky copy of SSMS for SQL 2012, you need this location (as keeping it the same is too simple for Microsods):

C:\Users\GRUMPY.DBA\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\SQL Server Management Studio\11.0\Templates\Sql

 

Again you'll find a copy of all the RTM templates visible in SSMS 2012 (this time via the seemingly pointlessly renamed "Template Browser"), and you can just copy your custom templates / folders into here. 

 

Note you need to restart SSMS to get it to pick up the new folders, but it's definitely quicker than creating them all by hand one at a time.