Useful Tools from the Web

These are my favourites, used for every day common jobs. This is not a complete review of them (you can find it anywhere…) but just a list with the reason why I choose them.

SQL Script Utility (http://sqlsrvscrpt.codeplex.com/wikipage?title=DBScript%20Utility) Management Studio is an incredible management tool…but if you need to script massivly indexes it can not help you. I looked for a tool like Script Utility years ago to support a replica scenario. Sometimes the replica had to be re-initialized so the tables and their indexes (created only on the subscriber) where dropped. I needed a good and fast way to script indexes on the subscriber to re-create them after every replica re-initialize. This tool (completely FREE from ms codeplex) was a good solution to solve this problem.

Classic Shell (http://www.classicshell.net) After the upgrade to Win 8 of my pc I tried for months to work without the start button. No way!  I can not work without it. It’s not just a link box: it’s the complete list of evertything I have installed on my pc and a fast shortcut to everything (control panel, computer management, common used apps, last opened docs and so on…). Win 8.1 will re-introduce it but with different purposes (just a rapid link to start screen…). Classic Shell for me was the final solution. Well done, fast, easy to install, no (or just a little…) configuration needed. A great tool for a simple but important job. And it’s FREE. Note: If you want you can customize the start button  with custom logos or skins. My suggestion is http://www.enkeria.se/download/ClassicShell/Classic_Shell_Buttons_by_Enkeria.zip . It’s a good download to have a mswin-like logo (from release 4 Ms Win logo is not available any more in the product) and other funny alternatives.