What is the best free tool for managing MSMQ queues and messages?

Question

Something that allows viewing message contents, copy/paste between queues and other basic explorer like functionality.

Answer 1

I just use the built-in MMC snap-in.

Win2k8: Start > Run > "compmgmt.msc" (Computer Management) > Features > Message Queuing

For other operating systems, you can also find it under the Computer Management MMC snap-in.

You can't do special things like copy/paste, however.

Answer 2

I'm starting to think maybe there isn't a good free tool...

For now I'm using Queue Explorer

Answer 3

This is going to be one of those questions where you just get a list of items fired back at you because 'the best' is pretty subjective. Having said that, here is the one that I use: MQMS Studio http://www.geekproject.com/tools.aspx. It is far from perfect but it allows connecting to remote queue managers and has a decent Xml view of the message payload, when it can be cast as Xml.

Answer 4

Again, not free, but pretty good, check out Q-Set from Mulholland Software.

Answer 5

Googled around for the same thing myself. My purpose was only to view the message in the queue, as the mmc snap-in (Computer Management -> Services and Applications -> Message Queuing), which I guess also could count as a 'free tool', would only allow to view the start of the body (don't remember the exact limit right now). Anyways, what I wanted was a tool that could just show me the message body - preferrably as xml. And I found this one; QExplorer (http://juliusr.freeweb7.com/qxplorer.html) by Julius L. Ramos. Don't know if it's the 'best' free tool out there, but it certainly did what I needed :)

Answer 6

MSMQ QXplorer is on SourceForge. v.2.0 (GPL) was last updated May 2009 and works fine.