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SQL Lizard
for SSMS 22
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Guide

Start simple, then explore the deeper tools

SQL Lizard is built for people who already live in SQL Server Management Studio. Start with a normal query, open the Advanced Data Grid, and then discover the toolbar, result-grid commands, Object Explorer commands, formatting, linting, dashboards, exports, SQLite tools, and log parsing features as you need them.

This guide is organized for scanning: everyday features first, advanced features later, and practical examples near the end.

Guide map

Jump to the part you need

Quick start

The easiest way to begin

Use real data. SQL Lizard is easiest to understand when you try it on the kind of result set you inspect every day.

Step 1

Run a normal query

Open a query window in SSMS and execute a query the usual way.

Step 2

Open the grid command

Right-click the standard SSMS results grid and open the SQL Lizard Advanced Data Grid command.

Step 3

Explore the result

Try grouping, filtering, sorting, preview, notes, bookmarks, exports, copy options, pivots, charts, and dashboards.

Step 4

Use SQL Lizard Execute

Run the query from the SQL Lizard toolbar when you want results to open directly in SQL Lizard tools.

Tips

Small habits that make SQL Lizard easier to find and use

Check the toolbar list

If the SQL Lizard toolbar is not visible, right-click the SSMS toolbar area and enable it from the toolbar list. This is the first thing to check when SQL Lizard is installed but the toolbar is not shown.

Append multiple results

Use CTRL+SHIFT with SQL Lizard Execute to append the next result set to the previous Advanced Data Grid. This helps when exporting multiple related result sets to one Excel file.

Use SQL comment hints

Comment hints can control tab names and dashboard layouts when SQL Lizard Run Query is used.

-- TABLE NAME: User Results
-- DASHBOARD LAYOUT: C:\Temp\user-overview.dashboardlls

SELECT TOP (100)
       UserId,
       UserName,
       Status,
       CreatedOn
FROM dbo.Users
ORDER BY CreatedOn DESC;

Keep SQL checks in perspective

SQL checks help catch common mistakes, but they are not a complete SQL parser or a security guarantee. Always review important scripts before running them.

Everyday features

The commands most users should try first

Advanced Data Grid

Start it by running a query from the SQL Lizard toolbar, or right-click the standard SSMS result grid and choose the SQL Lizard grid command from the context menu.

The grid is intentionally advanced: use its toolbar for pivot tables, find text, filter row, advanced filters, grouping, group footers, sorting, bookmarks, dashboards, print, PDF, and export workflows. Select multiple cells or rows to inspect them in the editor, open an Outlook email with selected results attached in one click, and work with multiple result sets in tabs that can be exported to a single Excel file.

You can print results or save them as PDF, including stamps such as Draft, Confidential, or your own label when you need to share information clearly. These are advanced result-analysis features that are rarely found inside database management tools.

Calculated fields add another layer of analysis with formulas for conversions, extracting JSON or XML fields, reshaping values, and preparing columns that can also be used in dashboard layouts.

Dashboards, charts, and pivots

Open the Dashboard Designer from the Advanced Data Grid toolbar or from the result grid context menu. Save dashboard layouts for later reuse, or add a dashboard layout comment hint to a query so the layout can open automatically with the result.

Use drag and drop to build dashboards with charts, scatter charts, grids, pies, cards, gauges, pivots, maps, range and date filters, images, text boxes, treemaps, filter elements, and tab containers. These elements allow advanced analytics and visualization for operational status, sales summaries, audit review, performance snapshots, inventory, incidents, or data quality checks without leaving SSMS.

This is not Power BI, but it brings useful BI-style analysis closer to where the data already sits. Pivot tables and dashboards can create strong visualizations directly from query results, without switching to another data analysis tool. It is the kind of analysis surface that has usually lived outside SSMS and similar database management tools.

Object Explorer helpers

Right-click inside Object Explorer to see additional SQL Lizard context menu items. On folders such as Tables, you can use grouping commands such as group by schema or by first letter.

Find in Object Explorer searches already-expanded nodes only. Expand the Tables or Views node first if you want those objects included. This is intentional: SQL Lizard searches what you are currently using instead of scanning every database loaded in Object Explorer.

SQL Format and SQL Lint

Use the editor context menu to format SQL or run SQL Lint checks. You can also enable checks on run in SQL Lizard Settings.

Lint rules can be configured to stop risky updates and deletes without query conditions when a query runs. These checks are helpful reminders, not a replacement for review.

Excel and clipboard helpers

Use the result grid context menu for export and clipboard commands. For Excel, the File Save dialog can create a protected Excel file; choose the protected Excel option and SQL Lizard will ask for a password. Keep the filename ending as .protected.xls during save, then rename it later in File Explorer if needed.

Copying as HTML-compatible formatted output is especially useful for Outlook, email editors, Word, and other HTML editors. Instead of plain tab-separated text, the result pastes as formatted HTML, which saves time when sharing query output inside enterprise workflows.

Query history and notes

If Query History is enabled in settings, you can find it in the SSMS Output window. It helps keep useful context close to the work you are already doing.

Notes are available throughout SQL Lizard. Select a few records and add them to notes, edit notes with familiar WYSIWYG-style formatting, and open notes any time from the SQL Lizard toolbar button.

SQLite and logs

Use SQLite query mode for text files, W3C logs, and Windows events

SQLite query mode is an advanced and rarely used feature. We included it because it can still be useful for people who need to inspect text files, logs, or event data from inside the same SQL Lizard workflow.

Use -- QUERY MODE: SQLite when you want SQL Lizard to run SQLite-style queries and create temporary parser-backed tables with ParsingModule.

You can also use -- TABLE NAME: comments to name result tabs or exported sheets, which makes parser results easier to recognize.

Text files and W3C logs

These examples create virtual tables from text files and W3C log files, then query them with SQLite syntax. The table names are only local names for the current query, so choose names that describe the source clearly.

Good text sources include exported reports, generated logs, CSV-like files, server logs, application traces, and quick folder scans where you want to filter lines before opening a heavier tool. 

-- QUERY MODE: SQLite

-- Create a temporary table over many text files.
-- Pick a table name that describes the source you are inspecting.
CREATE VIRTUAL TABLE temp.source_text_lines
USING ParsingModule('c:\txtfiles*.txt', '-i=TextLine');

-- Create a temporary table over IIS/W3C-style log files.
CREATE VIRTUAL TABLE temp.web_request_logs
USING ParsingModule('c:\logfiles\u_ex2105*_x.log', '-i=W3C');

-- TABLE NAME: Recent Web Requests
SELECT *
FROM web_request_logs
ORDER BY [time] DESC
LIMIT 1000;

-- TABLE NAME: Matching Text Lines
SELECT *
FROM source_text_lines
WHERE Text LIKE '%results%'
ORDER BY Text;

-- Search source files recursively from a project folder.
DROP TABLE IF EXISTS [files];
CREATE VIRTUAL TABLE [files]
USING ParsingModule('C:\Visual Studio Projects\*.cs', '-i:TextLine -Recurse:-1');

-- TABLE NAME: Files in Visual Studio Projects
SELECT *
FROM [files]
WHERE text LIKE '%class%'
LIMIT 100;

Windows Event Log Reader

Event logs can be exposed as a parser-backed SQLite table too. This is useful for quick investigation when you want event data beside your normal SQL workflow. 

-- QUERY MODE: SQLite

-- Read several Windows event logs into a parser-backed table.
DROP TABLE IF EXISTS windows_event_logs;
CREATE VIRTUAL TABLE windows_event_logs
USING ParsingModule('Application,System,Security', '-i=EVT');

-- TABLE NAME: Recent Windows Events
SELECT *
FROM windows_event_logs
LIMIT 100;
Experimental ParsingModule input formats

These parser modes are advanced and experimental. Keep them tucked away unless you need them for log analysis, text parsing, or custom ingestion work. Our log parser project is available at lizardlabs/logparser.

• Windows Event Log Reader (-i=EVT)
• Multiline Text Parser with Regular Expressions and Grok Syntax (-i=RegEx)
• Comma-Separated Values (-i=CSV)
• Tab-Separated Values (-i=TSV)
• W3C Format for IIS, FTP, Apache, ISA, Exchange, SMTP, MediaSvc, and similar logs (-i=W3C)
• Text Line Input Format (-i=TextLine)
• Text Word Input Format (-i=TextWord)
• log4j/log4net XML Format (-i=log4jXML)
• JSON-Formatted Logs (-i=JsonLog)
• Numbers Table (-i=Numbers)
• Media File Metadata (-i=MediaFiles)
• Delimiter-Separated Values (-i=Delimiter)
• Dates Table (-i=Dates)
• Custom Plugins Built with .NET (-i=CustomPlugin)

Free release

Use it because it helps, share it if you like it

SQL Lizard for SSMS 22 is free at this stage. It is meant to be useful as-is: install it, try it in your normal SSMS workflow, and keep the features that save you time.

Our software has been used by hundreds of thousands of users over many years. This release continues that practical tradition for modern SSMS users who want better result analysis, dashboards, exports, Object Explorer helpers, SQL formatting, linting, SQLite inspection, and log parsing without leaving SSMS.

What to expect

  • - Free at this stage; future licensing may change if needed to support continued development.
  • - No product telemetry, usage statistics, SQL queries, result data, connection information, or database content collection.
  • - If you send us emails, screenshots, logs, SQL, or other files, you are responsible for what you include.
  • - We do not need or want private, sensitive, or production data in feedback.
  • - No guaranteed support, SLA, custom onboarding, or special configuration work.
  • - Ideas and bug reports are welcome, but responses and fixes are best-effort.
  • - More users, more feedback, and more sharing help guide future features.
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Advanced features

Power tools for unusual or repetitive work

These features are advanced and rarely used. They are included here because someone with a specific workflow may still find them useful, and this guide gives those features a place to be explained without making them look like everyday tools.

Result operations

SQL Lizard can use internal splitters for advanced in-memory operations when you want to combine, compare, or relate result sets without switching tools.

GO
MERGE
LPL_UNION
LPL_INTERSECT
LPL_PRODUCT
RELATION_ON_FIRST_COLUMN
RELATION_ON_SAME_COLUMNS
JOIN_ON_FIRST_COLUMN
JOIN_ON_SAME_COLUMNS

VB.NET scripting

VB.NET scripting is an advanced feature and not something most users will need. It exists for rare cases where generating repeated SQL from a small script is useful.

SQL Lizard can generate SQL with embedded VB.NET sections when scripting is enabled. It uses older VB.NET 9 syntax on .NET Framework 4.5, so keep scripts simple.

This works with SQL Lizard Execute, not the standard SSMS Execute command.

<%
Dim tables = New String() {"Person.Person", "Person.EmailAddress"}

For i As Integer = 0 To tables.Length - 1
    Output.AppendLine("-- TABLE NAME: " & tables(i))
    Output.AppendLine("SELECT TOP (100) * FROM " & tables(i))
    Output.AppendLine("GO")
Next
%>