Q: One of our admins accidentally deleted the shortcut to SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS). What is the name of the SSMS executable and where can I find it?
A: The executable file for SQL Server Management Studio is found in different locations depending on the version of SQL Server that you’re using. For SQL Server 2014 and SQL Server 2012 the executable for SSMS is called ssme.exe.
For SQL Server 2014 is found in the following directory:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\120\Tools\Binn\ManagementStudio\Ssms.exe
For SQL Server 2012 you can find SSMS at:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\110\Tools\Binn\ManagementStudio\Ssms.exe
For SQL Server 2008 R2 you can find SSMS at:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\100\Tools\Binn\VSShell\Common7\IDE\Ssms.exe
For the older SQL Server 2005 instances SSMS file was called SqlWb.exe and it’s located at:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Tools\Binn\VSShell\Common7\IDE\SqlWb.exe
