When you run a query in SSMS, you are probably aware that the status bar contains many pieces of information about it. Things like the instance name that you are connected to, the login name used, and a few others. You can see them here:

Likewise, the tab that you are on has some information in it also:

Most of this information is the same in these two locations. However, did you know that you can control what all appears in the status bar and on the tab? These are all configurable in the SSMS Options (Tools menu | Options):

Not only can you control what appears in these locations, you can also control the color of the status bar. You can choose to not have duplicated information by putting some data in one place only. Or you can just de-clutter the tabs / status bar.

This post is for day thirty-two of my blog series “A Month of SSMS Tips” (Yes, I’ve gone beyond a month – there’s just so many things that SSMS can help you with!). I have a landing page for the series at bit.ly/MonthOfSSMS. Please visit this page for an easy place to quickly view all of the other tips in this series.