Basic Configuration: SourceSafe 2005 and SQL Management Studio 2005

Prerequisites:

Let's assume you have installed SQL Server 2005 client tools and the Visual Source Safe client on the same machine.  You're all updated, patched and ready to start some query writing.  Naturally ( it's natural - right? ) you want to have your code in source control.  "Even your queries related to the project?", you may ask.  Yes - even those.

If you open up SQL Management Studio and you don't see the source safe integration there, here is what you do.

Steps:

First, go into SQL Server Management Studio's "Tools" menu and select "Options..." as shown here.

Next, open the "Source Control" node of the tree on the left-hand side of the window that opens.  Under it, select the "Plug-in Selection".  The screen should look similar to the one below.

Now click on the "Current source control plug-in" drop down and select ( you guessed it ) "Microsoft Visual SourceSafe" from the list as shown below.

Once selected, you should see 2 new items added under the "Source Control" node on the left-hand pane's tree like so.

Finally "Ok" and close your way back to the main SQL Server Management Studio IDE.  You should be all set.

If you want to customize the way VSS behaves with your project, you may do so under the "Environment" and "Visual SourceSafe" nodes that are added to the options tree.

Interestingly:

One thing I did find during this.  If you also have Visual Source Safe 6.0's client installed on the same machine, and you then try to Open Source Safe from SSMS - it seems to "pick" the 6.0 interface instead of the 2005 interface.  I have not dug into why that is yet.  If you happen to know - please leave a comment and a work-around ( and or link ) if you know of one.