Switches used in the command line
This topic gives a 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.
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 | /argfile:<filepath>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 activation key. |
| /deactivate | Deactivates a product. |
| /execute | Executes a script. |
| /datacompare | Launches data comparison. |
| /script | Generates scripts of a database. |
| /scriptsfolder | Creates a scripts folder of a database. |
| /quiet (/q) | Hides console window in console mode. It should be used after the main operation switch. |
Switches details
/execute
Execute a script.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| /connection | /connection:<connection_string> Specifies the connection string. |
| /password | /password:<yourpassword>Specifies the server password or override the password specified in the connection string. |
| /database | Specifies a database to script or override the database specified in a template or in a connection string. |
| /encoding | /encoding:<codepage|encoding name>Specifies the encoding which should be applied to open and execute the script. |
| /inputfile | Specifies an SQL or ZIP file with a script to execute. |
| /zippassword | /zippassword:<zip password>Enters a password for protected archive with script. |
/datacompare
Launch data comparison.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| /compfile | /compfile:<filepath>Loads command line settings from comparison .dcomp project file. |
| /log | /log:<filepath>Generates comparison log file in the specified directory. |
| /meobjmask | /meobjmask:<expression|N>Excludes objects from the comparison if they match the given expression. To exclude objects from the comparison, specify mask expression. To turn off the option, specify: No, N, Off, False, F. Forced disabling of an option from the CLI is necessary if the option is set via UI and then saved in a dcomp file. |
| /micolmask | /micolmask:<expression|N>Includes objects to comparison if they match the given expression. To include objects to comparison, specify mask expression. To turn off the option, specify: No, N, Off, False, F. Forced disabling of an option from the CLI is necessary if the option is set via UI and then saved in a dcomp file. |
| /report | /report:<filepath>Generates a data comparison report file. If the output file name has a .html, .xls or .xml extension, it’s 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 | /reportformat:<HTML|XLS|CSV>Specifies the format of the file comparison report: HTML - a simple HTML file; XLS - a simple Microsoft Excel file; CSV - a simple CSV file. If the format was not specified, it is determined by the extension of the report file. |
| /source | Specifies source with the following options:server:<name> database:<db> [user:<yourusername>] [password:<yourpassword>] Connects to a live database by specified parameters. If ‘user’ is not specified, the system’s integrated security is used. connection:<connection_string> Specifies the full connection string with additional parameters. backup:<filepath> setid:<GUID> Loads database backup from one or several files. To specify multiple backup files, you should specify backup:<path> parameter as many times as many files you have. The parameter setid specifies unique backup set. scriptsfolder:<folderpath> Loads database objects from the specified scripts folder. |
| /sync | /sync[:path]Launches database synchronization. If an output file path is specified, the program will generate only a synchronization script. |
| /target | Specifies target with the following options: server:<name> database:<db> [user:<yourusername>] [password:<yourpassword>] Connects to a live database by specified parameters. If ‘user’ is not specified, the system’s integrated security is used. connection:<connection_string> Specifies the full connection string with additional parameters. backup:<filepath> setid:<GUID> Loads database backup from one or several files. To specify multiple backup files, you should specify backup:<path> parameter as many times as many files you have. The parameter setid specifies unique backup set. scriptsfolder:<folderpath> Loads database objects from the specified scripts folder. |
| /options | /{option}:[value]Specifies the value for comparison, synchronization, or comparison report option. To turn on the option, specify: Yes, Y, On, True, T. To turn off the option, specify: No, N, Off, False, F. Forced disabling of an option from the CLI is necessary if the option is set via UI and then saved in a .dcomp file. You can use this switch as many times as many options you want to specify. For more information, refer to Options used in the command line. |
/script
Generate scripts of a database.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| /connection | /connection:<connection_string>Specifies the connection string. |
| /password | /password:<pw>Specifies the server password or override the password specified in the connection string. |
| /database | Specifies a database to script or override the database specified in a template or in a connection string. |
| /outputfile | Specifies a file name for storing the database script or override the file name specified in template. |
| /projectfile | /projectfile:<path>Specifies script template to use. Some template options can be overridden by switches. For more information about how to generate a projectfile, see How to generate SQL Server database scripts. |
/scriptsfolder
Create a scripts folder of a database.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| /connection | /connection:<connection_string>Specifies the connection string. |
| /password | /password:<pw>Specifies the server password or override the password specified in the connection string. |
| /database | Specifies a database to script or override the database specified in a template or in a connection string. |
| /decrypt | /decrypt:[value]Defines if source objects should be decrypted during describing. |
| /includedata | /includedata:[value]Defines whether to include data. To turn on the option, specify: Yes, Y, On, True, T. To turn off the option, specify: No, N, Off, False, F. |
| /path | /path:<folder_path>Defines a scripts folder path. |
Usage examples
To practice comparison and synchronization through the command line, try to generate a synchronization script for a database backup and a live database. To do this, you should first change the default path in the command line by typing cd <required path> (for example, “C:\Program Files\Devart\Compare Bundle for SQL Server\dbForge Data Compare for SQL Server\datacompare.com”) and pressing Enter. After the default directory has changed, type the following arguments into the Command Prompt:
"C:\Program Files\Devart\Compare Bundle for SQL Server\dbForge Data Compare for SQL Server\datacompare.com" /datacompare /source backup:"D:\backup_file.bak" /target server:mssql2014 database:db_name user:yourusername password:"yourpassword" /CheckIdentical:Yes /sync:"D:\sync_script.sql"( /report:"D:\report_file.html")
Note
The path to the executable file will differ depending on which tools suite you have installed Data Compare with - Compare Bundle or SQL Tools. Make sure that you have specified a correct path. If you have installed Data Compare as part of SQL Tools, change the path accordingly:
C:\Program Files\Devart\dbForge SQL Tools Professional\dbForge Data Compare for SQL Server\datacompare.com
1. Compare data using settings from a file saved earlier:
/datacompare /compfile:"D:\workDir\DC1vsDC2.dcomp"
2. Compare and synchronize data using a connection string. To write a log to the specified file, use: /log:”D:\sync.log”.
/datacompare /source connection:"Data Source=serverA;Enlist=False;Initial Catalog=AdventureWorks2019;Integrated Security=False;User ID=yourusername;Pooling=False;Transaction Scope Local=True" /target connection:"Data Source=ServerB;Enlist=False;Initial Catalog=AdventureWorks2019_Test;Integrated Security=False;Password=yourpassword;User ID=yourusername;Pooling=False;Transaction Scope Local=True" /sync /log:"D:\sync.log"
3. To compare data of the specified databases and save the synchronization script to the file, use: /sync:”D:\compare_result.sql”
/datacompare /source connection:"Data Source=serverA;Enlist=False;Initial Catalog=AdventureWorks2019;Integrated Security=False;User ID=yourusername;Pooling=False;Transaction Scope Local=True" /target connection:"Data Source=ServerB;Enlist=False;Initial Catalog=AdventureWorks2019_Test;Integrated Security=False;Password=yourpassword;User ID=yourusername;Pooling=False;Transaction Scope Local=True" /sync:"D:\compare_result.sql"
4. Compare and synchronize data using settings from the file, do not generate comments in the synchronization script, turn off dml triggers during synchronization; generate a report to the specified file in the HTML format:
/datacompare /compfile:"DC1vsDC2.dcomp" /nocomments:yes /nodml:yes /report:"report.txt" /reportformat:HTML /sync
5. Compare and synchronize data using settings from a file. Synchronize Lob columns using files:
/datacompare /compfile:"D:\workDir\DC1vsDC2.dcomp" /fspath:"\\SqlHost\Temp" /sync
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.
/datacompare /compfile:"DC1vsDC2.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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