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Thursday, October 1, 2009

SSIS package viewer

The idea is simple, I'd like to be able to export a picture of what my SSIS packages look like. If they're small enough, I can just take a screenshot. If they're sizable though, I have to take lots of shots, stitch them together and it really shouldn't be that hard. I can build packages programatically. I have a basic comprehension of the object model but I'll be dogged if I can figure out how to determine any of the presentation "crap." UI stuff has never been my strong suit but this is worse than usual. What I know: it's all XML. The root element is a Package and then it specifies all this stuff about what the objects are and where they are on the canvas. Maybe I'm blind, but I'm not seeing anything in Microsoft.SqlServer.Dts.Runtime that indicates any object has a clue about coordinates. Not the Package, not the Executable, none of that. I'll keep digging but it might be faster for me to get to SQL PASS and try to talk to a MS developer about it. Maybe it'd be easier to try and write a Visual Studio plugin that does nothing more than expose and Export method. BIDS Helper might be a good starting point for that.

At any rate, blog rate has slowed but there are still plenty of ideas rolling about in the noggin and this is one of them.

[edit]Bingo! BIDSHelper, ExpressionHighlighterPlugin.cs looks like it's got code in there to deal with the canvas. Microsoft.DataWarehouse.Design.EditorWindow has stuff for display-centric stuff.[/edit]

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I like to go to File... Print... then print to OneNote. That avoids the screenshot stitching and the ugly peach background color. Something to try.