Requirements
Microsoft SQL Server compatibility
Microsoft SQL Server compatibility
- SQL Server 2022
- SQL Server 2019, 2017, 2016 SP1, 2016, 2014, 2012, LocalDB
- SQL Server 2008, 2008R2 (including Express edition)
- SQL Server 2005 (including Express edition)
- SQL Server 2000
- SQL Server installed on Linux
- SQL Server on Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS)
- Azure SQL Database (SQL DB)
- Azure SQL Data Warehouse (SQL DW)
- Azure SQL Managed Instance (SQL MI)
- Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) multi-factor authentication (MFA)
- Azure Private Link for Azure SQL Database
- Heroku Cloud
Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio compatibility
- SSMS v20
- SSMS v19
- SSMS v18
- SSMS v17
- SSMS 2016 (including Express editions)
- SSMS 2014 (including Express editions)
- SSMS 2012 (including Express editions)
Note
Starting from version 7.0, the SQL Server Management Studio add-ins in the dbForge for SQL Server product line will no longer support integration with SSMS 2012/2014. However, previous versions of the SSMS add-ins will remain compatible with SSMS 2012/2014.
System requirements
- Microsoft Windows 7/8/8.1/10/11
- Windows Server 2008/2012/2016/2019/2022
- .NET Framework 4.7.2 or higher installed. You can download .NET Framework here.
Note
.NET Framework is pre-installed in Microsoft Windows 7/8/8.1/10/11.
Permissions required to use Schema Compare
dbForge Schema Compare can compare and synchronize schemas of a SQL Server database. To perform this effectively, the user needs access to the schema and the data objects of a database, and may require additional privileges depending on the options of data synchronization.
The VIEW DEFINITION permission is the minimum permission you need to have to compare databases.
In SQL Server 2000
| Task | Permissions |
|---|---|
| Gathering information about the database schema | a user must be a member of the PUBLIC role |
| Updating the database being compared | a user must have INSERT and UPDATE rights granted in addition to SELECT permissions |
| Synchronizing databases | a user must have a db_owner role |
| Working with encrypted objects | a user must have a sysadmin role |
| Comparing the databases that contain tables with different constraints | a user must be granted the VIEW ANY DEFINITION and VIEW SERVER STATE permissions |
Note
- The easiest way to grant SELECT permissions on all objects is to add a user to the database’s db_datareader built-in role.
- The easiest way to grant INSERT and UPDATE rights for all objects in the database is to add a user to the db_datawriter user role.
- The ability to view schema may be restricted for any users with PUBLIC role membership if the VIEW DEFINITION right has been revoked. One must have VIEW DEFINITION permission granted in order to see the definition of objects in the database.
In SQL Server 2005
| Task | Permissions |
|---|---|
| Comparing databases | a user must have a db_owner role (recommended) or VIEW DEFINITION permission (minimum) |
| Synchronizing databases | a user must have a db_owner role |
Note
- If you want to compare encrypted objects, you need a system admininstrator role.
- You can’t synchronize objects that are encrypted if they’re encrypted in the source.
In SQL Server 2008/2012/2014
| Task | Permissions |
|---|---|
| Comparing databases | a user must have a db_owner role (recommended) or VIEW DEFINITION permissions (minimum) and SELECT permissions for the system view sys.sql_expression_dependencies |
| Synchronizing databases | a user must have a db_owner role |
Note
- If you want to compare encrypted objects, you need a system admininstrator role.
- For the system view you need VIEW SERVER STATE permission.
In SQL Server 2016 and later
| Task | Permissions |
|---|---|
| Comparing databases | a user must have a db_owner role (recommended) or VIEW DEFINITION, VIEW DATABASE STATE permissions (minimum) and SELECT permissions for the system view sys.sql_expression_dependencies |
| Synchronizing databases | a user must have a db_owner role |
Note
- If you want to compare encrypted objects, you need a system admininstrator role.
- For the system view you need VIEW SERVER STATE permission.
Permissions issues
In case you don’t have the right permissions:
- Some objects may be missing from the comparison results
- Synchronization itself and synchronization scripts may fail or have unexpected results
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