Consultant Tools Series: Instant SQL Formatter

If you have ever viewed the SQL text for a Microsoft Dynamics GP stored procedure, you have probably had to reformat it from its single-line format into something more readable.  By default, most of the stored procedures seem to stretch forever on a single line, and adding appropriate line breaks and formatting is quite tedious.

A few weeks ago, my colleague Andrew Dean told me about the Instant SQL Formatter web site.  This fantastically handy web site will take a messy or unformatted SQL statement and reformat it into a very nicely formatted version.

I was reminded about it today at the Dynamics GP Technical Conference when Jen Olsen referenced the site during her SRS Reporting in Dynamics GP 2010 R2 presentation.  She shared that she uses the Instant SQL Formatter web site regularly to reformat the stored procedures that are used by the Dynamics GP SSRS reports.

If you do use the site, make sure to pay attention to the formatting options on the right side of the page.  Jen recommended setting the 3 case options at the top to "Unchanged" to ensure that no changes are made to the actual text of the SQL statements.

Very handy service!

Steve Endow is a Dynamics GP Certified Trainer and Dynamics GP Certified Professional.  He is also the owner of Precipio Services, which provides Dynamics GP integrations, customizations, and automation solutions.

http://www.precipioservices.com