Feature/Allow open/paste execution plans

[ClaudioESSilva]

What does this PR do?

Implements #359

This is my suggestion for this. Let me know if it's ok or needs changes.

Which component(s) does this affect?

• Full Dashboard
• Lite Dashboard
• Lite Tests
• SQL collection scripts
• CLI Installer
• GUI Installer
• Documentation

How was this tested?

Created a new button "🔍 Open Plan Viewer"

When we click on it, it will open the "Plan Viewer" at the same level as "Overview" and "Alert History".

It has, by default, a "New Plan" tab and a "+" in case you want to open others.

There, you'll be able to:

• Paste a plan either by doing "CTRL + V" or by hitting the "Paste XML" button
• "Open .sqlplan File" by browsing in your filesystem
• "drag & drop" a file here.

OpenPlanViewer.mp4

Also, the "Plan Viewer" under the server tab is still there as before.

Same screen on Dashboard

Checklist

• I have read the contributing guide
• My code builds with zero warnings (dotnet build -c Debug)
• I have tested my changes against at least one SQL Server version
• I have not introduced any hardcoded credentials or server names

[erikdarlingdata]

PR #397 Review — Allow Open/Paste Execution Plans

Nice work, Cláudio! This is a clean, well-organized implementation. Here's my full review:

What works well

• Good UX: The dashed drop-zone border, multi-tab support with unique labels, and "+" add tab pattern are all polished.
• Proper XML validation: Every entry point (Ctrl+V, paste button, file open, drag & drop) validates XML before rendering — no path to crash on bad input.
• Doesn't break existing behavior: The per-server Plan Viewer tab still works exactly as before. The new main-window Plan Viewer is independent.
• Both apps covered: Dashboard and Lite get the same feature with appropriate structural differences.
• Smart empty-tab handling: When all sub-tabs are closed, a fresh empty one re-opens so you never end up staring at just a "+" tab.

Issues to address

1. Missing Ctrl+V on Lite's per-server Plan Viewer empty state

Dashboard adds Ctrl+V support to ServerTab_KeyDown (line ~628-640 in the diff) so you can paste a plan when the Plan Viewer tab is selected but no plan is loaded yet. Lite's ServerTab doesn't have a KeyDown handler at all, so this path is missing. When the Lite per-server Plan Viewer shows the empty "No Plan Loaded" state, Ctrl+V won't work.

This matters less since PlanViewerControl itself handles Ctrl+V once a plan IS loaded, but it's a UX gap for the initial paste.

2. Large code duplication (~400 lines near-identical)

AddNewEmptyPlanSubTab, LoadPlanIntoSubTab, GetUniqueSubTabLabel, GetActivePlanSubTab, IsPlanFile, drag/drop handlers, and KeyDown handlers are copy-pasted between Dashboard/MainWindow.xaml.cs and Lite/MainWindow.xaml.cs. This is consistent with how the codebase already works (Dashboard and Lite are separate projects), so it's acceptable — but worth noting for future maintenance. If we ever extract a shared project, this would be a good candidate.

3. Minor formatting

_mainPlanTabControl = new TabControl

{

There's a stray blank line between = new TabControl and { in Dashboard/MainWindow.xaml.cs (around diff line 170-171).

Nice-to-haves (not blocking)

• Multi-file drag & drop: Currently only the first dropped file loads. Supporting multiple files (each in its own sub-tab) would be a natural enhancement but fine for a follow-up.
• OpenMainWindowPlanTab is public but uncalled: Both MainWindow classes have this public method, but nothing in this PR calls it. Presumably it's a hook for future use (e.g., routing "View Plan" from a server tab into the main plan viewer). Worth a comment to clarify intent.

Verdict

The Lite Ctrl+V gap (#1) is the only functional issue. Everything else is clean and ready. Would be great to fix #1 and #3, then this is good to merge.