How do I obtain a Query Execution Plan in SQL Server?

Question

In Microsoft SQL Server how can I get a query execution plan for a query / stored procedure?

Answer 1

My favourite tool for obtaining and deeply analyzing query execution plans is SQL Sentry Plan Explorer. It's much more user-friendly, convenient and comprehensive for the detail analysis and visualization of execution plans than SSMS.

Here is a sample screen shot for you to have an idea of what functionality is offered by the tool:

It's only one of the views available in the tool. Notice a set of tabs to the bottom of the app window, which lets you get different types of your execution plan representation and useful additional information as well.

In addition, I haven't noticed any limitations of its free edition that prevents using it on a daily basis or forces you to purchase the Pro version eventually. So, if you prefer to stick with the free edition, nothing forbids you from doing so.

UPDATE: (Thanks to Martin Smith) Plan Explorer now is free! See http://www.sqlsentry.com/products/plan-explorer/sql-server-query-view for details.