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Erik Ejlskov Jensen edited this page Sep 13, 2022 · 23 revisions

How do I get started using the Toolbox?

Congratulations, you have now installed the extension. To start using it in Visual Studio, launch the Toolbox from the button in Server Explorer, or from the Tools menu (View menu in SSMS):

If you like this free tool, I would be very grateful for a review

You can always get in touch with me on Twitter - @ErikEJ

Get an overview of my tools and utilities for embedded database development

The Toolbox requires one (or both) of these SQL Server Compact runtime MSIs to be installed, if you want to connect to a SQL Server Compact database file:

Download 3.5 SP2

Download 4.0 SP1

To use the "View Data as Report" feature, you need to install the Microsoft Report Viewer

How do I use the SQL Server Compact & SQLite Toolbox

If you would like more information about using the Toolbox, you can watch a 32 minute demo video (version 4, mainly SQLite) or watch a 25 minute demo video (version 2.6 (SQL Compact) on Channel 9, or you can download an overview e-book Building Standalone Data-Driven Applications using SQL Server Compact 4.0. I also have a number of feature blog posts available.

I have two wiki posts on Entity Framework code generation with help from the Toolbox:

Demo video on Channel 9 (version 4.0)

Demo video on Channel 9 (version 2.6)

How do I contribute

If you encounter a bug or have a feature request, please use the Issue Tracker

The Toolbox is open source and welcomes any contribution. There are a number of issues in the Backlog that the project needs help with!

Building and debugging

In order to build the source code, use Visual Studio 2019. You will also need the SQL Server Compact 3.5 SP2 and 4.0 runtimes installed. To debug, make VSToolbox the startup project, and ensure your build configuration is AnyCPU.

To debug the SSMS extension: Same as above - make SSMSToolbox the startup project. In project properties, Debug, select "Start external program": C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\140\Tools\Binn\ManagementStudio\Ssms.exe In project properties, VSIX, make sure a three checkboxes are checked, and use this path for location: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\140\Tools\Binn\ManagementStudio\Extensions\SqlCeToolbox