AdeptSQL Diff Online Help - AdeptSQL Diff Reference

AdeptSQL Diff is a lightning fast and intuitive tool to visually compare and synchronize two MS SQL Server databases. This manual covers all major aspects of working with the program, including:

Connecting to the databases: a schema comparison can be performed between any two MS SQL databases residing on local or remote servers. The connection information is presented in a dual connection panel where, whenever possible, the Diff helps you to choose the correct connection parameters. The Diff treats the connection parameters and other comparison-specific settings as a 'project' or 'document' which can be saved to a file and re-opened later. Such comparison document can also be specified at startup in the command line, along with various command-line parameters.

·	Viewing the comparison results: The program scans both databases and displays the combined schemas in the schema tree view, with all differences color-marked. From there, you can view changes in individual schema objects or produce and apply scripts as described below.

Zooming-in on differences: Navigating through the tree, you can view SQL definitions for individual matched objects (tables, view, stored procedures, etc) compared side-by-side. This allows you to see how exactly the object has changed. Note, though, that the side-by-side view displays results of a purely textual comparison, which on some rare occasions may be different from the result of the schema-level comparison algorithm. It is the color markup displayed in the schema tree that really shows what is different and what is not, from Diff's point of view.

Scripting the changes: You can produce SQL scripts for a selected part or for the whole schema using menu commands, conveniently placed toolbar buttons, hotkeys or drag-n-drop. The most important type of SQL script the Diff produces is an "update" or "synchronization" script, which brings the "target" database schema in sync with the "source" database. The intuitive synchronization direction is left-to-right (the right-hand database being the "target"), although synchronization commands in the Diff are symmetrical and you can synchronize your databases in either direction.

Verifying and applying the changes: The Diff never changes your databases automatically. Instead, any generated SQL script is shown in the built-in SQL editor, where you can execute the scripts either uninterrupted or step-by-step, set breakpoints, turn on transactions and rollback on errors. AdeptSQL Diff generates correct synchronization scripts for almost all conceivable differences and combinations of differences (at the moment our internal test set contains over 830 individual tests, and each new Diff update must pass all applicable tests on all server versions - 7.0, 2000, 2005 and 2008). Even so, we recommend that you preview the generated script before applying it to the target database.

Configuring your comparisons: AdeptSQL Diff has a very extensive set of options, covering all aspects of its operation, such as loading the schema information, comparing the minor details, scripting the changes or displaying the information. If something related to comparing and scripting schema objects can conceivably be done in several different ways, it is likely that you will find an option to control that. Although each of these configurable options has a reasonable default value, it is highly recommended that you go through each of the Options pages at least once to see what can be configured.

Comparing table data: the program also includes DataDiff - a subsystem to compare and synchronize data in any pair of the compared tables. Note that you first have to run a regular schema comparison, then in the schema tree select a single pair of matched tables (at least one of them with data) before the comparison command will be enabled. Note that although the DataDiff is technically a part of AdeptSQL Diff, you may need a special "DataDiff-enabled" license to activate it.

Generating difference reports: the reporting functionality allows to print out the comparison results or export them in a number of common formats (PDF, HTML, RTF, etc). The reporting is provided for both schema- and data-comparison. Besides the reporting command, the DataDiff can also export the compared data in MS Excel-compatible XML format. Such exports can be saved into a file or simply copied from DataDiff and pasted into Excel or other Office applications.

Viewing a single database: Beside creating synchronization scripts, the Diff can produce simple CREATE and DROP scripts taking into account only one database. Even if you have only one database to work with, the drag&drop scripting together with very flexible scripting options make AdeptSQL Diff a perfect tool to view the schema of your database.

Automating your comparisons: the Diff provides simple COM Automation interfaces for both schema and data comparisons. Using these interfaces, you can programmatically run a comparison and then fetch some difference information or the synchro scripts. Scripts invoking the Diff can be written in any general-purpose or scripting language that can access COM objects. An archive containing several sample scripts in VBScript is available for free download from our site.

·	Using command-line options: the Diff is essentially an interactive tool, not a command-line utility. Still, it supports a small number of command-line options which define where the options will be loaded from/saved to and also allows to start a comparison immediately.

·	AdeptSQL Diff in portable mode: while normally the Diff gets installed on the target machine and keeps all its settings in the registry, it is possible to keep the Diff itself, all its settings and the activation key on a USB flash drive and run it on any computer without installation.

·	Trying out the Diff and obtaining a license: AdeptSQL Diff is a closed-source commercial software with a time-limited trial mode. See details here.

Please contact us at the address below if you have any questions or ideas regarding the tool:

info@adeptsql.com