Documentation | SQL Shades

v1.3.560

2025-02-07

Added

Pro: Terminal Green and Terminal Amber themes

Click here to learn more about SQL Shades Pro

Ability to configure NULL cell background color in the data results grid

Fixed

When tabbed results are enabled, opening a new query window now correctly loads the query editor
Settings dialog layout now displays properly in high DPI environments

v1.2.548 (download)

2025-01-02

Fixed

Alert defined for one server and instance would show for any connection with that instance name

v1.2.547

2025-01-01

Added

Pro: Customize alert color

Improved / Themed

Grid inactive highlight now uses theme accent color
Override types are grouped and sorted for ease of use
Tab controls are now themed 🙌
- NOTE: This is for the Windows tab control, like on the connection dialog and above the results grid. Script editor tab theming is on the roadmap.

Fixed

Alert caused misaligned line numbers
Basic Dark: XML links in results grid were not themed
Some pro themes: Grid highlight was hot pink
Theme and log level selections would reset on settings dialog open

v1.1.543 (download)

2024-12-09

Improved / Themed

Alert: Support server names with commas
Query results messages panel and NULL cells, when SSMS launches with a script file already open
Grid selection highlight, including the one in Job Activity Monitor
Job history panel job names tree

v1.0.540 (download)

2024-10-31

Added

Pro: More color themes
Pro: Color customization for many UI elements, including syntax highlighting

Click here to learn more about SQL Shades Pro

Improved / Themed

Basic Dark: Syntax highlighting, including XML
Basic Dark: Themed title bar and toolbars
Basic Dark: Tweaked to feel more cohesive
Color selection meets or exceeds WCAG 4.5:1 minimum contrast in most situations
Rewrote theming engine for improved flexibility and customization

Fixed

Certain colors caused edit table cells to behave as read-only
Groupbox titles were unthemed
Radio button text in 'Restore Database Source' was invisible
Some labels' text would disappear if the control started disabled and was later enabled
Various other minor bugs fixed (and new ones added)

New known issues

Execution plans have been blacklisted until their text can be themed

v0.9.497 (download)

2024-03-21

Added

SSMS 20 support

Themed

Background of diagram window
- Must first be enabled in the SQL Shades settings dialog
Disabled labels, checkboxes, and option buttons

Fixed / tweaked

Build number in settings is now selectable for copy & paste
Installer would, rarely, trigger a reboot
Toolbar button would reappear on startup if hidden

v0.8.485

2024-01-19

Added

Colored border when the script editor is connected to prod, to make the danger blatantly obvious
- Must first be configured in the SQL Shades settings dialog
Grid brightness/contrast customization options

Fixed / tweaked

Improved contrast of disabled text
Tweaked NULL grid cells to use purple accent color
Grid cell borders were occasionally turning pink
Results grid and messages pane were left unstyled when opening SSMS via a .sql file or when recovering after a crash

v0.7.472 hotfix

2023-08-31

Fixed / tweaked

Added logging for when a color fails to resolve properly. If you see hot pink, let me know!
Excluded SSMS warning/confirmation dialog from theming (needs special attention to get right)
Fixed rare graphical glitches caused by theming dialogs too early in their lifecycle
- Erred on the side of caution here, so send me screenshots and logs if dialogs randomly theme some times but not others
Heisenbug causing theming to fail if different types of grids were rendered in just the wrong order
Link labels' non-link text is no longer dark-on-dark
"Third-party dialogs" setting checkbox now sets correctly on load

v0.7

2023-08-21

Themed

Activity Monitor chart axes and data grids
Editor grids, including Edit Top 200 Rows and Table Designer
Several different Microsoft dialog windows such as Properties, Back Up, etc.
- Also, option to enable heuristic theming for non-Microsoft dialogs (disabled by default)
Query Store chart axes (well, all but one), and even one of the chart background colors

Fixed / tweaked

Assembly conflict with another add-in resolved
Connection dialog now themes again in SSMS 19.1
Option in settings to change log verbosity, improving performance by reducing file write overhead
Reduced contrast of grid lines a bit for easier reading
Template Parameters cell editor colors corrected

v0.6

2023-05-08

Themed

Execution plan graph and live query statistics in SSMS 19
Hyperlinks in grid cells
Results grid scroll bars

Fixed

Installer detects new SSMS version on repair and upgrade
Installer now is better about finding the extension directory if SSMS hasn't been run as admin
Script Publish Wizard no longer hangs when scripting a table to a new query window
Settings save retries for a bit instead of erroring if settings file is locked (e.g. by antivirus scan)
SQLEditors type load error resolved

v0.5

2023-03-10

Themed

Context menus throughout SSMS
Grids throughout SSMS
- (To disable grid theming, add `Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.UI.Grid.GridControl` to the blacklist)
Grid column headers
Object Explorer Details tool window

Fixed

Rebuilt grid theming process to improve color contrast
Results messages pane now themes correctly again in SSMS19

Known Issues

Blacklisted the reports tool window until SSIS reports learn to embrace the dark side
Disabled execution plan theming in SSMS19 and live query statistics theming in all versions until I can compensate for breaking changes
The Object Explorer Details column header row is haunted (empty space flickers white briefly when headers are rendered)
Chart axis label text on the query store and server monitor tool windows is hard to read

v0.4

2023-01-18

Added

SSMS 19 preview 4 support
Blacklist to exclude controls / tabs from pervasive coloring
- (No UI right now; edit it in the config file found at %localappdata%\SqlShades\settings.json)

Themed

Activity Monitor and other data grids

Fixed

Installer now correctly finds the SSMS installation directory in mixed-permission environments

Known Issues

Results grid contrast is too stark
Object Explorer Details is unthemed
Designers remain unthemed
Redgate sql search is on the blacklist until I can get the preview pane text color overridden

v0.3

2022-10-28

Themed

Installer

Fixed

Connection dialog: Fixed edge case that left the username label black
Connection dialog: Username combobox and labels now themed properly when disabled

v0.2

2022-09-10

Added

Pervasive mode that worms its way through tool windows and extensions and attempts to color them heuristically.
Toolbar button to quickly access settings

Themed

Client statistics results tab
Connection dialog
Execution Plan, Live Query Statistics, and Estimated Query Plan results tabs
Supratimas extension results tab

Fixed

Detects script editors present at startup (e.g. when starting SSMS via a .sql file, or when recovering unsaved files from a crash)
Results grid now themes even when SQL Complete's aggregate bar is enabled
Welcome notification now correctly displays on first run
Misc. minor fixes

v0.1

2022-08-03

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