SQL Server Express is all you need to be a Salesforce data hero using SQL-Sales. This data sheet is a very detailed step by step guide to installing SQL Server Express 2022. Once installed you get started with SQL-Sales straight-away.

SQL Server Express 2022 is free to use even for Production use. There is a 10Gb data storage limitation to this edition but as you’ll see in the next data sheet Getting started with SQL-Sales and SQL Server Express, in most use cases for an initial project setup, that will be more than adequate, over time you may choose to upgrade to a fuller edition of SQL Server.

Getting Started EXPRESS – Install

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/sql-server/sql-server-downloads

Choose Express, click Download now, which will download the installer:

Run the installer:

Choose Basic

Click Accept

Click Install

This will download the install package

Eventually the install will complete

All done – congratulations! You have installed the SQL Server back-end engine, however to write and run SQL queries and therefore use SQL-Sales you now need to install SSMS, as highlighted, SSMS stands for SQL Server Management Studio, i.e. where you write and run SQL queries against the engine you have just installed.

SSMS Install

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/ssms/download-sql-server-management-studio-ssms?view=sql-server-ver16&redirectedfrom=MSDN

The SSMS button takes you to this link

This is the SSMS download, once we’ve downloaded, installed and completed a bit of minor configuration we’re all done

This is the SSMS installer, it’s a generic program (quite large!) used by all the editions, including the free SQL Server Express 2022

It’s recommended to accept the defaults, click Install

Once finished you’ll get

That’s the installations completed, however there’s some minor config recommended – read on – firstly, open SSMS

In your case, your machine name will be shown in place of our “SQL-SALES” machine name so you’ll have something like: DESKTOP-453dg\SQLEXPRESS

By default you’ll be setup for Windows Authentication, based on you as the User logged into your windows machine.

You may need to click “Trust server certificate” on your install, as highlighted if you get the msg below

Continuing the connection for this out of the box Windows Authentication

All done! At this point you can move on and install SQL-Sales, however for completeness a few additional (optional) steps can be completed to enable SQL Server Authentication – which in the context of this minimum installation data sheet isn’t required, however as a general instructional aide, we’ll follow this through, should you prefer to use a SQL Server logion over a windows login.

Right click your SQL Server and click Properties

By default, out the box you’re in “Windows Authentication mode”

Click “SQL Server and Windows Authentication mode”, click OK

As advised by this prompt, you can now simply restart your machine for that change to take effect

Alternatively (for your information/education, making no knowledge assumptions) you can just restart your SQL Server engine. Navigate to SQL Server 2022 Configuration Manager

You’ll see that your SQLEXPRESS instance is just a service that can be right clicked and Restarted

As a further alternative, as this is a service you can type Services in the windows start

And restart from here if preferred

Open SSMS once again and on the left hand side, in the Object Explorer, navigate to Security >> Logins

You’ll see by default sa is disabled, double click it

It has that red cross as by default sa is disabled. Enable it in the Status page.

Additionally you’ll need to define a password in the General page. It’s up to you how you define your p/w policy. Once you’ll all done with the p/w change and Status to enable change, click OK.

Now test that this has worked

Right click your SQL Server and click Connect

Or simply click Connect in the left hand side Object Explorer, both will open the following window

Choose SQL Server Authentication and enter the p/w you defined for sa

As with Windows Authentication you may need to click “Trust server certificate”, Click Connect

You’re in! This time via a SQL Server login (sa). Let’s create a Database to test this works.

Right click Database

Create the database name of your choice, click OK

To open a query screen, right click your newly created Database and click New Query

You’re all done and fully ready to move ahead to install SQL-Sales.

To recap you now have SQL Server at your disposal, can log in as your windows user via Windows Authentication, or as the sa, via SQL Server Authentication.

Finally – don’t forget to pin the icon to your taskbar!