Grouping and Filtering Comparison Results

After you have compared the data sources, Schema Compare displays the comparison results in the upper grid of the Schema Comparison document.

To update the comparison results, click Refresh on the Comparison toolbar or press F5. To change the comparison settings, click Edit Comparison on the Comparison toolbar.

Group comparison results

The results can be grouped by:

  • Status (default option)
  • Object Type
  • Operation

To change grouping, use one of the following ways:

  • On the toolbar, select the option from the Group By list.
  • Right-click anywhere in the Schema Comparison document and select Group By > required option.

To ungroup the results, select No Groups.

Group results

Select objects for synchronization

By default, all database objects are selected for synchronization. To exclude any object from synchronization, clear the checkbox next to the required object.

Schema Comparison document

To modify the operation for an object, click the Operation column next to it and select the required operation from the list.

Change the operation

Search for objects

In the Schema Comparison document, you can search for objects by entering the text in the Search box. The list will be filtered to show only objects that match the search query.

By default, the search mode is case-insensitive. It means that the tool highlights the matching text, regardless of whether it is capitalized or lowercase. The number of matching objects will be displayed in the search bar.

To clear the search results, select Clear search in the search box.

Searching for objects

Filter objects

Objects Filter enables you to include or exclude database objects in schema comparison results and synchronization. You can filter objects by type, name, or other criteria. You can also apply multiple filters and create custom filters with Filter Editor.

Objects Filter

Open Objects Filter

Objects Filter opens automatically after you run a schema comparison.

If Objects Filter is closed, you can open it in one of these ways:

  • On the Comparison toolbar, click Objects Filter.

  • Right-click the schema comparison grid and select Objects Filter.

  • Press Ctrl+L.

Note

Objects Filter retains your filter selections even when it is closed, and preserves them when you update or re-run a schema comparison.

Objects Filter toolbar

You can use the toolbar to manage filters.

Objects Filter toolbar

The table describes the toolbar options.

Icon Name Description
Open an existing filter Open an existing filter Loads a previously saved custom filter.
Save Save Saves the schema comparison object filter to an .scflt file, either by creating a new file or by updating the current filter file.
Delete the current file Delete the current file Deletes the current user-defined schema comparison object filter file.
Discard Changes Discard Changes Reverts the filter settings:
  • If the filter was saved to a separate file, dbForge Studio restores the settings to the state they were in when the filter was saved.
  • If the saved .scomp file was reopened, and the filter was restored from it, dbForge Studio restores the settings to the state they were in when the file was loaded.
Close the Objects Filter tree   Closes Objects Filter.

Note

The Delete the current file is available for filter settings saved to the filer or opened from it but is unavailable for the Nothing excluded and Custom* filters.

The Save is unavailable only for the Nothing excluded filter.

Warning

If you reload the same filter, the message This filter has already been loaded. Overwrite? appears. Click Yes to confirm the operation. Click No to cancel.

Filter box

The Filter box shows the available filters:

  • Nothing excluded – The default filter.
  • Custom* – A modified version of the Nothing excluded filter.
  • User-defined filter (for example, MyFilter) – A filter saved as an .scflt file and loaded by a user.

An asterisk (*) in the filter name indicates unsaved changes.

You can select a filter directly from the Filter box.

Select a filter from the Filter box

Warning

Switching to another filter or closing Objects Filter discards any unsaved changes, so save your changes before performing these actions.

Objects Filter tree

The Objects Filter tree lists the database objects on the specified server. Objects appear in alphabetical order.

Objects Filter tree

Filter objects by types

By default, all object types are included in the comparison results and synchronization.

Include object types

To include an object type, select the checkbox for the corresponding type, or click its name.

To include all object types, select All object types, or click its name.

Exclude object types

To exclude an object type, clear the checkbox for this type, or click its name.

To exclude all object types, clear All object types, or click its name.

Note

Excluding an object or object type removes it from the comparison results and prevents it from being selected for synchronization.

Warning

If an object selected for synchronization references an excluded object, you can include the excluded object later on the Dependencies page of the Schema Synchronization Wizard.

Save filters

You can save the schema comparison object filter to an XML file with the .scflt file extension.

To save a filter:

1. On the Objects Filter toolbar, click Save, then select Save or Save As.

2. In the Save As dialog, specify the file name and select the folder to store the file.

3. Click Save.

The .scflt file is a regular XML file that can be edited with any text editor. It stores all object types, their synchronization status (True for included, False for excluded), and any associated filter rules. The filter settings are located within the FiltersCollection tag.

  • Checked – Shows whether the database object type is included (True) in the comparison or not (False). It can be left empty when included but modified with a certain filter rule.
  • Filter – Contains an object name mask to filter objects by. It is empty by default.
  • Include – Indicates whether the filter rule includes (True) or excludes (False) objects.
  • ObjectName – The name of the database object type that the filter refers to.

File with all object types, synchronization status, and associated filter rules

Create filter rules

The Filter Editor allows you to define rules for specific objects.

To create a rule:

1. In the Objects Filter tree, click Edit Filter for an object type to open the Filter Editor dialog.

2. In Filter rule for, select the object type to which the filter applies, or select All object types to apply the filter to all objects.

3. Select Include objects if (default) to include objects that meet the condition, or select Exclude objects if to exclude objects that meet the condition.

Create filter rules

4. Click the logical operator placeholder, then select the operator:

  • And – Displays the records when both conditions are True.
  • Or – Displays the records when at least one of the conditions is True.
  • Not And/Not Or – Reverses the logic of the specified conditions.

Note

When you click the upper-level operator, you can also add a new condition or a new condition group, or clear all conditions.

5. To add a filter rule, click Add a condition.

Create filter rules

6. Click the Source Object placeholder and select the item.

The table describes the source objects supported in the editor.

Name Description
Operation A synchronization operation for the target database:
  • Create – Adds the object to the target database.
  • Update – Modifies the object in the target database to match the source.
  • Drop – Removes the object from the target.
  • None – No changes are applied to the target.
Source Object A name of the object in the source schema.
Target Object A name of the object in the target database.
Source Owner A schema to which the object belongs in the source database.
Target Owner A schema to which the object belongs in the target database.
Status A status of the object as the result of schema comparison:
  • Only in Source – Objects that exist only in the source schema and can be created in the target schema during schema synchronization:
  • Different – Objects that exist in source and target schemas but have different DDL definitions.
  • Only in Target – Objects that exist in the target schema and can be dropped from the target schema during schema synchronization.
  • Identical – Objects that are identical and exist in both schemas.
  • Inconsistent – Objects that exist in both schemas but are inconsistent and cannot be compared or synchronized.
Type A type of the database object.

Add a new condition filter icon

7. Click the operator placeholder (default: =) and select the filter operator for the condition, such as =, <, or <>.

8. Click the value placeholder and select the value from the list.

Add a new condition filter

9. Click OK to save the changes.

Remove conditions

To remove a condition, use one of these ways:

  • Click Remove a condition for the required condition.

  • Press the Minus Sign key.

Remove condition groups

To remove a condition group, click Remove a condition for the required condition group.

Note

Pressing the Minus Sign key removes only one filter rule in the group.

Reset to default state

To clear all conditions and revert the editor to its default state, in the Filter Editor, click Reset.

Discard changes

To close the dialog without saving changes, click Cancel.

Revert filter settings

To revert filter settings to the last saved or loaded state, or to the defaults values, on the toolbar, click Discard Changes.

Save the comparison options

dbForge Schema Compare for Oracle enables you to save comparison and synchronization options for automating or scheduling database comparison and synchronization tasks. These settings are saved to a .scomp file.

The asterisk (*) next to the .scomp file name on the tab of the Schema Comparison document indicates unsaved changes.

Save comparison options

To save the comparison settings, select Save on the Schema Comparison toolbar or press Ctrl+S.

Note

If you save the .scomp file before you configure the synchronization settings, the file saves only the custom comparison settings. The synchronization settings remain at their default values.