Switches used in the command line
This topic gives detailed description of command-line switches and examples of their usage.
You can select the required options while setting the comparison in the Data Comparison Wizard and generate a file with command-line arguments by clicking Save settings to a file.
Note
To run the Command Line in Windows 10:
From the Desktop Mode
- Move the mouse cursor to the exact lower left corner until the desktop shortcuts menu appears.
- Right-click to see the shortcut menu and than click Run.
From the Charms Bar
- Move your mouse to the upper right corner until the Charms Bar appears.
- Select Apps from the list and type ‘run’ in the search box.
- Click Run from the search results.
Use Windows + R Shortcut Keys
- In desktop mode, press the Windows + R keys, to show the Run command line.
- In the window that opens, type cmd and press Enter.
Command-line usage
datacompare [/argfile:filepath] [/operation_switch] [/switch1[:value | [parameter1:value parameter2:value ..]] /switch2 ..]
The first argument for datacompare is usually an operation switch that corresponds to the operation that you want to perform with the application.
Available command-line switches
| Switch | Usage |
|---|---|
| /argfile | Specifies the path to the command-line arguments file. Options specified in the command line have higher priority than the options that were given in the argfile. |
| /activate | Activates a product using the activation key. |
| /deactivate | Deactivates a product. |
| /backup | Backs up a database. |
| /datacompare | Launches data comparison. |
| /execute | Executes a script. |
| /restore | Restores a database. |
| /scriptsfolder | Creates a scripts folder of the target schema. |
| /quiet (/q) | Hides the console window in console mode. It should be used after the main operation switch. |
Switches details
/activate
Activate a product using the activation key.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| exitcodes | Lists possible exit codes that can be returned by the command-line process. |
| key | Specifies a product activation key. |
/deactivate
Deactivate a product
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| exitcodes | Lists possible exit codes that can be returned by the command-line process. |
/backup
Backup a database.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| connection | Specifies a connection string. |
| database | Defines a database to backup. |
| errormode | Specifies the application behavior when there is an error. |
| exitcodes | Lists possible exit codes that can be returned by the command-line process. |
| outputfile | Specifies a file name for storing the backup. The parameter overrides a file name specified in a backup project. |
| password | Defines a server password. The parameter overrides a password specified in the connection string. |
| projectfile | Specifies a backup project to use. Switches can override some project options. |
| treatwarningaserror | Defines the application behavior when there is a warning. |
/datacompare
Launch data comparison.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| /compfile | Loads command-line settings from the comparison project file - *.dcomp. |
| /exitcodes | Lists possible exit codes that can be returned by the command-line process. |
| /includeobjects | Specifies the objects that will be included into the report. |
| /log | Writes a comparison log to the specified file. |
| /meobjmask | Excludes objects from comparison if they match a given expression. To exclude objects from the comparison, specify a mask expression. To turn the option off, specify No, N, Off, False, or F. |
| /micolmask | Excludes columns from the comparison if they match a given expression. To exclude columns from the comparison, specify a mask expression. To turn the option off, specify No, N, Off, False, or F. |
| /miobjmask | Includes objects to comparison if they match a given expression. To include objects to the comparison, specify a mask expression. To turn the option off, specify No, N, Off, False, or F. |
| /options | Specifies some comparison or synchronization options directly in the command-line interface. See the list of available options and learn how to use them in Options Used in Command Line for /datacompare. To turn the option off, specify No, N, Off, False, or F. |
| /report | Generates a data comparison report file. If the output file name has a .html, .xls or .xml extension, it is not necessary to specify the file format - it will be chosen depending on the extension. For more information, refer to Options used in the command line. |
| /reportformat | Generates the comparison report in the following foramts: HTML: A simple HTML file XLS: A simple Microsoft Excel file XML: A simple XML file XMLFOREXCEL: A simple XML file for XML Spreadsheet 2003 When a format is not explicitly specified, it is automatically determined based on the file extension of the report |
| /includeobjects | /includeobjects:<All|Filtered|Diff|SelectForSync Specify objects for the report: * All - all objects; * Filtered - filtered objects; * Diff - objects with differences; * SelectForSync - objects selected for synchronization. The option refers specifically to the report generation in the HTML/XLS/XML formats and does not work separately from the /report:<filepath> key. |
| /source | Connects to a live database by specified parameters with the following options: host:\<name> database:\<db> [port:\<port>] user:\<yourusername> [password:\<yourpassword>] [charset:\<charset>]. Also, it allows specifying the full connection string with additional parameters: connection:<connection_string>. To specify the file path to a SQL Server backup file (.bak) or backup files taken from the differential backup: backup:<filepath> [backup:<filepath> ...] |
| /sync | Launches database synchronization. If an output file path is specified, the program will generate only a synchronization script. |
| /target | Connects to a live database by specified parameters with the following options: host:\<name> database:\<db> [port:\<port>] user:\<yourusername> [password:\<yourpassword>] [charset:\<charset>]. And it allows specifying the full connection string with additional parameters: connection:<connection_string>. To specify the file path to a SQL Server backup file (.bak) or backup files taken from the differential backup: backup:<filepath> [backup:<filepath> ...] |
/execute
Execute a script.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| connection | Specifies a connection string: /connection:\<connection_string>. |
| password | Defines a server password or override the password specified in the connection string: /password:\<yourpassword>. |
| database | Specifies a database to script or override the database specified in a template or in a connection string. |
| encoding | Sets the encoding which should be applied to open and execute the script: /encoding:<codepage\|encoding name>. |
| inputfile | Defines an SQL or ZIP file with a script to execute. |
| zippassword | Enters a password for a protected archive that contains the script: /zippassword:\<zip password>. |
| exitcodes | Lists possible exit codes that can be returned by the command-line process. |
/restore
Restore a database.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| connection | Specifies a connection string. |
| createdatabase | Creates a database specified in the /database switch if it does not exist. |
| database | Defines a database to restore. The parameter overrides a database specified in the connection string. Databases specified in the script will be ignored. |
| encoding | Specifies the encoding which should be applied to open and execute the script. |
| exitcodes | Lists possible exit codes that can be returned by the command-line process. |
| inputfile | Specifies an SQL or ZIP file with a script to execute. |
| password | Enters a server password. The parameter overrides a password specified in the connection string. |
| zippassword | Defines a password for a protected archive that contains the script. |
/scriptsfolder
Create a scripts folder of the target schema.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| connection | Specifies a connection string. |
| password | Specifies a server password. The parameter overrides a password specified in the connection string. |
| database | Defines a database to create a scripts folder for. |
| exitcodes | Lists possible exit codes that can be returned by the command-line process. |
| includedata | Defines whether to include data. |
| path | Defines a scripts folder path. |
Usage examples
1. Compare data using settings from the file saved earlier:
C:\Program Files\Devart\dbForge Compare Bundle for MySQL Standard\dbForge Data Compare for MySQL Server>datacompare.com /datacompare / compfile:"D:\workDir\sakilavssakila1.dcomp"
2. Compare schemas using settings from the file and write log to a specified file:
C:\Program Files\Devart\dbForge Compare Bundle for MySQL Standard\dbForge Data Compare for MySQL Server>datacompare.com /datacompare / compfile:"sakilavssakila1.dcomp" /log:"D:\sync/log"
3. Compare data using settings from the file, generate a report to the specified file in the HTML format:
C:\Program Files\Devart\dbForge Compare Bundle for MySQL Standard\dbForge Data Compare for MySQL Server>datacompare.com /datacompare / compfile:"sakilavssakila1" /report:"D:\report.txt" /reportformat:HTML
4. Compare schemas using using settings from the file saved before, and save a synchronization script:
C:\Program Files\Devart\dbForge Compare Bundle for MySQL Standard\dbForge Data Compare for MySQL Server>datacompare.com /datacompare / compfile:"sakilavssakila1" /sync:"D:\compare_result.sql"
5. To compare data of the specified databases and save the synchronization script to the file, use: /sync:"D:\compare_result.sql"
C:\Program Files\Devart\dbForge Compare Bundle for MySQL Standard\dbForge Data Compare for MySQL Server>datacompare.com /datacompare /source connection:"Host=ServerB;Port=3306;Database=sakila;User Id=yourusername;Password=yourpassword;Character Set=utf8" /target connection:"Host=ServerA;Port=3306;Database=sakila1;User Id=yourusername;Password=yourpassword;Character Set=utf8" /sync:"D:\compare_result.sql"
6. Compare data and generate data report using settings from a file. Comparison and data writing settings of the different objects will be included into the report.
C:\Program Files\Devart\dbForge Compare Bundle for MySQL Standard\dbForge Data Compare for MySQL Server>datacompare.com /datacompare /compfile:"sakilavssakila1.dcomp" /report:"report.html" /incdata:Yes /incsettings:Yes
Note
To build the command-line syntax, it’s better to use the Command-line Wizard.
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