Do you like wasting time on repetitive tasks? Yeah, I didn’t think so. Me neither. I always try to find tools and techniques that can help me work smarter and more efficiently. Fewer clicks, more smiles! 🤓
In this category, I write about applications that can help increase your productivity. I also share tips for saving time in applications you might already be using. Some of my favorite free tools for text editing are Visual Studio Code and Notepad++. I’m also a huge fan of the Redgate products, especially SQL Prompt. This is a licensed tool, but the one tool I would pay out of pocket for to use at work!
In Notepad++, you can quickly find information about your text. For example, what is the document length and total word count? You can do this by using a built-in feature or by using the TextFX plugin. They count words differently, though, so be aware! Make sure you use the one that is right for you 🙂
Word Count in Notepad++
If you have no plugins installed, you can use the built-in Summary feature. If you are using the TextFX plugin you can use the Word Count feature:
Click View → Summary
Double-click on Length / Lines on the Status Bar (shortcut to Summary)
Redgate recently released SQL Prompt 7.1. I try to be an efficient developer (read: I’m a lazy and often impatient developer), so I’m a huge fan of any feature that can save me some clicks here and some time there. In this version, SQL Prompt comes with new Results Grid Features. And let me tell you… I rarely hear so many business users and business analysts ask me: How did you do that!?
You can use Notepad++ to quickly insert, edit, or delete text in multiple locations in one file - at the same time! All you have to do is enable Multi-Editing, and then hold CTRL while you click or select text. This is a fast and easy way to edit parts of your document in just a few seconds.
Hello, my name is Cathrine, and I am a tab hoarder 🤓 I always have lots of tabs open in SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) connected to different environments. I have written about how Redgate SQL Prompt Tab Coloring makes it easy to find the right tab(s) based on the tab color, but that is not the only tab feature that saves me a lot of time.
Redgate SQL Prompt Tab History. is amazing! It allows you to view and reopen closed tabs, even those unnamed and unsaved tabs with ad-hoc queries that you thought you would never need again. It also allows you to quickly navigate and search through closed and open tabs.
Redgate recently released SQL Prompt 6.5. There are some nice features in this version, but my favorite is by far Tab Coloring! It is no longer an experimental feature, it has become a proper feature. I did a quick demo of Redgate SQL Prompt including Tab Coloring in my SQLBits session to show how you can save time and work more efficiently.
