Move T-SQL templates

If you are a frequent user of templates in Management Studio you might have stumbled on the problem that when you change computer or reinstall your computer all your custom templates are gone. My first thought was that there must be an option to export the templates in Management Studio but there doesn’t seem to be one. Ok, i guess they must be stored in the file system somewhere and if so, you can move your templates from one computer to another. Now we just have to find them… It seems the templates are stored locally in the profile and in my case i found them here: C:Documents and SettingsJANNEApplication DataMicrosoftMicrosoft SQL Server100ToolsShellTemplatesSql

Where “JANNE” is a placeholder for whatever account name you might have. Now you just have to copy the parts you want and put them in the new location. There are a lot of pre-defined templates that you might not want to move but you can just copy the parts you want and that’s all there is to it. Just remember to copy your custom templates before you reinstall. Same goes for your help favorites in Books Online. These can also be moved and i found them here: C:Documents and SettingsJanneApplication DataMicrosoftMicrosoft SQL Server100ToolsShellvs help data The help favorites are located in a file called: Favorites.xml so all you have to do is move this file to the new location.