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.
datacompare [/argfile:path] [/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.
| Switch | Usage |
|---|---|
| /argfile | /argfile:<path> |
| Path to command-line arguments file. Options specified in the command line have higher priority than the options which were given in the file. | |
| /activate | Activate a product using activation key. |
| /deactivate | Deactivate a product. |
| /execute | Execute a script. |
| /datacompare | Launch data comparison. |
| /script | Script a database. |
| /scriptsfolder | Create a scripts folder of the target schema. |
| /quiet (/q) | Hide console window in console mode. It should be used after the main operation switch. |
Execute script.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| connection | Is used to specify the connection string: /connection:<connection_string> |
| database | Is used to specify a database to script or override the database specified in a template or in a connection string. |
| encoding | Is used to specify the encoding which should be applied to open and execute the script: /encoding:<codepage|encoding name> |
| inputfile | Is used to specify an SQL or ZIP file with a script to execute. |
| password | Is used to specify the server password or override the password specified in the connection string: /password:<pw> |
| zippassword | Is used to enter a password for protected archive with script: /zippassword:<zip password> |
Launch data comparison.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| compfile | Usage: /compfile:<path>. Loads command line settings from comparison .dcomp project file. |
| log | Usage: /log:<filepath>. Generates comparison log file in the specified directory. |
| meobjmask | Usage: /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. |
| micolmask | Usage: /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. |
| report | Usage: /report:<filepath>. Generates data comparison report file. If the output file name has .html, .xls or .xml extension, it’s not necessary to specify the file format - it will be chosen depending on the extension. Please see the documentation to learn more about report formats. |
| reportformat | Usage: /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:<name>] [password:<pw>] Connects to a live database by specified parameters. If ‘user’ is not specified, the system’s integrated security is used. | |
| connection:<connection_string> Allows specifying 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 | Usage: /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:<name>] [password:<pw>] Connects to a live database by specified parameters. If ‘user’ is not specified, the system’s integrated security is used. | |
| connection:<connection_string> Allows specifying 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> Load database objects from the specified scripts folder. | |
| options | Usage: /{option}:[value]. Specifies the value for comparison or synchronization option. To turn on the option, specify: Yes, Y, On, True, T. To turn off the option, specify: No, N, Off, False, F. You can use this switch as many times as many options you want to specify. |
Script database.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| connection | Is used to specify the connection string: /connection:<connection_string> |
| database | Is used to specify a database to script or override the database specified in a template or in a connection string. |
| outputfile | Is used to specify a file name for storing the database script or override the file name specified in template. |
| password | Is used to specify the server password or override the password specified in the connection string: /password:<pw> |
| projectfile | Is used to specify script template to use. Some template options can be overridden by switches: /projectfile:<path> |
Make a scripts folder of a target database.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| connection | Is used to specify the connection string: /connection:<connection_string> |
| database | Is used to specify a database to script or override the database specified in a template or in a connection string. |
| decrypt | Is used to define if source objects should be decrypted during describing: /decrypt:[value] |
| includedata | Is used to define whether to include data: /includedata:[value] |
| * To turn on the option, specify: Yes, Y, On, True, T. | |
| * To turn off the option, specify: No, N, Off, False, F. | |
| password | Is used to specify the server password or override the password specified in the connection string: /password:<pw> |
| path | Is used to define a scripts folder path: /path: |
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
"C:\Program Files\Devart\dbForge Data Compare for SQL Server\datacompare.com" /datacompare /source backup:"D:\backup_file.bak" /target server:mssql2014 database:db_name user:user_name password:"password" /CheckIdentical:Yes /sync:"D:\sync_script.sql"( /report:"D:\report_file.html")
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=sa;Pooling=False;Transaction Scope Local=True" /target connection:"Data Source=ServerB;Enlist=False;Initial Catalog=AdventureWorks2019_Test;Integrated Security=False;Password=su;User ID=su;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=sa;Pooling=False;Transaction Scope Local=True" /target connection:"Data Source=ServerB;Enlist=False;Initial Catalog=AdventureWorks2019_Test;Integrated Security=False;Password=su;User ID=su;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