Today’s quick tip is for SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS). From time to time when I’m speaking I’ll get a question on how I pulled up help for a given DMV or table.

It’s impossible to remember every fact about every DMV and every system table. It’s also great to show documentation from time to time when you demo.

How can you pull up docs easily from SSMS? Easy, there’s a shortcut (SHIFT-F1). Just highlight any item and press SHIFT-F1 and the documentation pulls up in your default browser.