dbForge Data Compare for SQL Server Tutorial

1. Opening the data comparison wizard

By default, the Start page opens, where you can launch the Data Comparison Wizard and start your common tasks in one click without searching a required command in the menu.

Tip: To open previous comparison projects, double-click them.

2. Selecting database connections

To create a database connection, click the New button in the wizard. The Database Connection Properties window appears.

Select a required server from the drop-down list in the Server field, then specify authentication, user, password, database. Click OK to finish the creation.

Now you can select this connection in the drop-down list of the Connection field on the Data Comparison Wizard.

3. Selecting Source and Target for comparison

Source is the database which contents is inserted to Target after synchronization. Target is the database which contents you compare and synchronize with Source.

In the Type fields of the Data Comparison Wizard select either Database or Backup, or any combination to compare.

Tip: To swap Source and Target, click the swap button. To set up additional comparison options, click the Next button. To start the comparison, click Compare.

4. Selecting comparison options (optional)

You can customize comparison behavior, e.g., to ignore some objects or properties. Go to the Options wizard page and select the required check boxes.

Tip: Save the comparison settings as a command line arguments file by clicking the link at the top. Later you can use this file for automatic comparison and synchronization through command line.

Tip: To save the current selection of options as your defaults, click the Save As My Defaults button.

5. Custom objects mapping

dbForge Data Compare offers both automatic and manual (custom) mapping. Use custom mapping to map schemas, tables, columns, and views that can't be mapped automatically.

Tip: To discard custom mapping and restore to the default one, click the Reset button.

Mapping schemas

Map identical schemas with different names without a doubt.

Click the Map schemas button and select Source schema in the left part of the open window, then select Target schema from the drop-down list in the right part. Click OK and all schemas' objects will be automatically mapped.

Mapping tables and views

Map tables and views with a different data structure manually in several clicks.

Click the Map Objects button and select Source and Target objects in the open window, then click OK. The selected pair of objects will appear in the grid on the Mapping wizard page and be compared.

Tip: To map multiple pairs of Source and Target objects without closing and opening the window many times, click the Map button after the first selected pair of objects. When you manually select all required objects, click OK to see them in the grid on the Mapping wizard page.

Mapping columns

See how many columns of each object can be compared in the Columns in Comparison field of the grid.

Click the ellipsis button for the required object in the Column in Comparison field. The open window will show all the columns (and their details) of the selected object.

Automatically mapped columns are marked with the green icon. Incompatible columns are marked with the red icon. Select required Target columns from the drop-down list and click OK.

7. Analyzing comparison results

See the full info about compared objects in the data comparison document. The top grid shows all compared objects. The bottom grid shows the records of the selected object, automatically grouped by status - Identical, Different, Only in Source, and Only in Target.

Select required objects or separate records of objects to synchronize.

Tip: For better understanding, filter the objects in the top grid, e.g., to see Only in Source objects.

8. Synchronizing data

Use the Data Synchronization Wizard to generate a standards-driven synchronization script and tune the synchronization result based on your needs. Click the Synchronize button to immediately generate the synchronization script.

Tip: To customize synchronization, click Next and move to other wizard's pages.

On the Options wizard page customize the synchronization by applying various options.

To see the synchronization actions and the list of warnings generated during mapping, move to the Summary wizard page.

9. SQL script management

Use SQL editor to view and edit synchronization scripts, create queries and execute them against the selected database.

Click the New SQL button to open the SQL editor.

Tip: When the query is executed, see the query results in the Data window at the bottom. Find rich data management options in the right-click menu.