How to Call External Applications like MS Excel, MS Word etc., from SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)

Many of us are thinking that SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) is used only for database administration, but also can be used to call the external applications like MS Excel, MS Word, Calculator etc.,

For this example, let me explain, how to call MS Excel from SSMS.

Step 1 : Open SQL Server Management Studio(SSMS)

Step 2 : Go to Tools --> External Tools Menu (As shown below)













Step 3 :

(i) In the Title text box, type the name you want to appear in the Menu contents List. eg. "Excel"

(ii) In the Command text box, type the program name. Include the path to the executable file.
For example "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\EXCEL.EXE"

(iii) In the Arguments text box, type the program arguments if necessary.

(iv) In the Initial directory text box, type the program's initial directory if necessary.

(v) Click OK





















Go to Tools Menu, Now you can see "Excel" menu is added (As shown below).















Click and see the magic, the similar way you can add other your frequently used applications in SSMS. I hope this will help you to save your valuable time.