Message Snippet

  • This enhancement's utility may be limited to folks like myself that post on SSC often but it would make posting easier and (I think) could improve the experiences of those asking questions with those omissions we so often see (no DDL, etc.) or whose answers we end up typing so often (a link to Gail's Managing Transaction Logs article), so here goes...

    The 'Snippets' feature would appear under the IFCodes Shortcuts to the left of the Message box on Post.aspx in the form of Hyperlinks. The links would write common 'Snippets' of text to the message box. A new user would not have any 'Snippets' initially but could configure new ones through their Control Panel or by clicking a 'Configure Snippets' link shown in the Snippets section to the left of the Message box. A Snippet would consist of a Name (limited to maybe 20 characters) and Text (unlimited, or limited to a reasonably large number of characters).

    An example of a snippet would be:

    Name = ask for DDL

    Text = Please provide:

    1. DDL in the form of CREATE TABLE statements to create your sample tables

    2. DML in the form of INSERT INTO statements to populate the sample tables

    3. The expected results of your SELECT statements based on that sample data

    4. Most importantly: what you have tried so far.

    If I were to configure this Snippet then ask for DDL would appear as a Link in the Snippets section under the IFCode Shortcuts section. Similar to an IFCode Shortcut, if I clicked on ask for DDL the Snippet text (shown above) would be inserted into the Message box at the cursor-position.

    There are no special teachers of virtue, because virtue is taught by the whole community.
    --Plato

  • I could do the snippet piece, but asking for parameters isn't a capability I have. It's not built in and not sure we could build it.

    However I could had a shortcut of sorts that would appear there. Let me try something.

  • Please provide: 1. DDL in the form of CREATE TABLE statements to create your sample tables 2. DML in the form of INSERT INTO statements to populate the sample tables 3. The expected results of your SELECT statements based on that sample data 4. Most impo

  • didn't quite work. The replacement doesn't respect cr/lf

    Hmmm, I'll see if we can add someting that makes sense.

  • Thanks, Steve! I was not sure where this would land on the priority list but it sure would be cool. I appreciate you considering the feature.

    There are no special teachers of virtue, because virtue is taught by the whole community.
    --Plato

  • I agree!!! This would be an awesome addition. I far too often find myself typing in the same things over and over again. It would be great to have a place on the site for this stuff.

    _______________________________________________________________

    Need help? Help us help you.

    Read the article at http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537/ for best practices on asking questions.

    Need to split a string? Try Jeff Modens splitter http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Tally+Table/72993/.

    Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 1 – Converting Rows to Columns - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/T-SQL/63681/
    Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 2 - Dynamic Cross Tabs - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Crosstab/65048/
    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 1) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69953/
    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 2) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69954/

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