SSMS Tips and Tricks 2-2: Changing displayed status bar values

The status bar at the bottom of a query window in SQL Server Management Studio contains a wealth of information in its default configuration. The bottom left shows the connection state:

And the bottom right shows quite a bit:

In this case, it’s showing me that I’m connected to a server (local)\SQL2022; it’s running v16 of SQL Server (ie: SQL Server 2022); I’m logged on as GREG7680\Greg; my SPID (or session ID) is 88; and I’m connected to the WideWorldImporters database.

If I had a query running, the time would be counting up, and if a query had completed, it would show me the number of rows.

While this is useful, it’s also configurable. The options are in Tools > Options> Text Editor > Editor Tab and Status Bar:

You can choose whether the displayed time is the elapsed time or the end time. You can also remove the display of the database, login, row count, and/or server name. You can set the color used for group and/or single server connections and choose where the status bar is located. You can move it to the top.

2025-06-04