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SSMS 21 Preview and RedGate installation order

Long time user of RedGate SQL Toolbelt Essentials. Have been current on product in relation to using SSMS 20. Updated on 3/27/2025 to latest and greatest SQL Toolbelt Essentials. Tried to install the SSMS 21 Preview today and it said it must be installed into an empty directory into “C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio 21\Preview”. I was like, I have yet to install the SSMS 21 preview yet, so I was confused. Found that SQL Toolbelt Essentials has preloaded the product definition files there assumably for SSMS 21 to use them but It could not install because the directory was not empty. 

A chicken and the egg issue.

My solution was to delete the contents under “C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio 21\Preview” but now trying to get that back and seem to now have to uninstall a SQL Toolbelt Essentials product to get it to reinstall. 

I suggest making the SQL Toolbelt Essentials installer a bit smarter to not put the files there unless SSMS is actually installed and then have an option to install support for SSMS 21 Preview and assumably the final release. 

Carman Houston
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  • Jon Kirkwood
    Official comment

    Hi Carman Houston, 

    Thank you for reaching out on the Redgate forums regarding this SSMS21 install anomaly. I've replicated this and can confirm that Prompt is creating it's pkgdef extension data in the standard SSMS21 install folder even without SSMS21 installed. This is not ideal.

    I shall escalate this to our developers to ensure that the installer more accurately determines the installed versions of SSMS to load the extension into.

    Jon Kirkwood

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