Is there a way to get SQL Management Studio to stop running a query when an error occurs?

 Yes, you can stop SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) from continuing to run a query when an error occurs by modifying a few settings or using specific techniques.

Here are a few ways you can handle this:

1. Using TRY...CATCH blocks

While not a direct SSMS setting, you can use TRY...CATCH blocks in your SQL scripts to explicitly control how errors are handled. For example:

BEGIN TRY
    -- Your query here
    SELECT 1 / 0; -- This will cause a division by zero error
END TRY
BEGIN CATCH
    PRINT 'Error encountered, stopping execution';
    RETURN; -- This stops further execution
END CATCH

In this case, the query will be stopped after an error occurs and you can control what happens when the error is encountered.

2. Setting XACT_ABORT to ON

Another way to stop a query when an error occurs, especially in the context of transactions, is to use the XACT_ABORT setting. When XACT_ABORT is ON, the transaction is automatically rolled back if a runtime error occurs, and further commands in the batch are not executed.

SET XACT_ABORT ON;

-- Example query
BEGIN TRANSACTION;
    -- This will cause an error
    SELECT 1 / 0;
COMMIT;

With XACT_ABORT ON, the error will cause an immediate rollback and stop any further execution.

3. SSMS Query Options - "Stop execution on error"

SSMS itself has an option to stop execution on error, but it is not as commonly known. This can be found in the query options settings.

1. Go to Tools → Options.
2. In the Options dialog, expand Query Execution.
3. Select SQL Server → General.
4. Check the option "Stop executing the query when an error occurs".
5. Click OK to apply the setting.

This ensures that SSMS will stop executing the rest of the query batch as soon as an error occurs.

4. Use GO Statements Carefully

If you are running multiple batches of SQL commands in a single script, GO can be used to separate them. While GO itself doesn't affect error handling, separating your code into smaller batches makes it easier to isolate errors and stop execution on the problematic batch by ensuring each section is treated independently.

-- Batch 1
SELECT * FROM Users;
GO

-- Batch 2
SELECT 1 / 0; -- This will cause an error
GO

5. Error Handling in SSMS (Manually Stopping Execution)

While this isn't automatic, you can manually stop a query that is currently executing in SSMS by clicking the "Cancel" button (red square) in the toolbar, or by pressing Ctrl + Break on your keyboard.

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By combining these techniques, you can stop SQL Server queries from continuing after an error occurs, giving you more control over the flow of execution in your scripts.