Configure comparison options

You can customize the default behavior of schema comparison on the Options page of the New Schema Comparison wizard.

Open the New Schema Comparison wizard

To open the New Schema Comparison wizard, do one of the following:

• In the top menu, select Comparison > New Schema Comparison.
• On the Start Page, select Database Design > New Schema Comparison.
• In Database Explorer, right-click the server connection or database and select Tasks > New Schema Comparison.

The options are grouped in collapsible categories. Selecting an option displays its description under the options grid.

Set up comparison behavior

Select a checkbox to include an option in schema comparison, or clear it to exclude the option.

Use default options

To save your current selection of options as defaults for all new projects, click Save As My Defaults.

To restore your saved defaults, click My Defaults.

To reset all options to their original state, click Devart Defaults.

Search for options

You can search for comparison options by entering text or symbols (such as a wildcard or underscore) in the search box. The list filters automatically to show only options that contain the search term.

The default search mode is case-insensitive. For example, entering de matches De, de, or DE. Matching text is highlighted, and the search bar shows the number of matches. Multiple words separated by spaces highlight matches for each term.

To clear the search, click in the search box.

Keyboard shortcuts in the search box

The table describes the keyboard shortcuts you can use in the search box.

Keyboard shortcut	Description
Ctrl+A	Selects all.
Ctrl+Left Arrow (←)	Moves the caret to the beginning of the word.
Ctrl+Right Arrow (→)	Moves the caret to the end of the word.
Ctrl+Shift+Left Arrow (←)	Selects text from the current caret position to the beginning of the current word and moves the caret to the beginning of the word.
Ctrl+Shift+Right Arrow (→)	Selects text from the current caret position to the end of the current word and moves the caret to the end of the word.
Ctrl+Backspace	Deletes the word to the left of the caret.

Save settings to a command-line arguments file

To save command-line arguments and settings to a .txt file:

1. In the upper-right corner of the wizard, click Save settings to a command-line arguments file.

2. In the Save As dialog, select the destination folder.

3. Specify the file name.

The default name is SchemaCompareArgs.txt. You can specify a different name.

4. Click Save.

The generated file includes source and target connection details, and a list of comparison options that indicate whether each option is enabled (Yes) or disabled (No):

Note

The command-line arguments file includes both comparison and synchronization options.

Schema comparison options

The table describes a list of schema comparison options.

Name	Group	Description	Default State
Associate column names having similar name options, 80 %	Auto Mapping	Considers similar column names (for example, column1 and column1a) equal.	Off
Ignore case in object names	Auto Mapping	Ignores cases in object names during mapping and comparison.	Off
Ignore spaces in object names	Auto Mapping	Ignores spaces in object names during mapping and comparison.	Off
Compare database properties	Common	Includes a database object in comparison and synchronization. Objects that depend on other synchronized objects are synchronized, even when Compare database properties is turned off.	On
Convert user data types into SQL Server system data types	Common	Converts user-defined types to SQL Server system types during comparison and synchronization.	Off
Disable dependency analysis	Common	Disables dependency building algorithms and uses object types from the Object Filter dialog. The synchronization script will not be generated.	Off
Ignore authorization	Common	Ignores the AUTHORIZATION clauses and statements on contained database objects. Target authorizations will be preserved if possible.	Off
Ignore CHANGE_TRACKING	Common	Ignores the CHANGE_TRACKING clauses when comparing and synchronizing databases.	Off
Ignore CLR datatypes in column	Common	Ignores CLR data types in the column. Column CLR data types in the target tables will be preserved if possible.	Off
Ignore collations	Common	Ignores column collations. Collations are removed if a columns data type is changed to a non-text type, regardless of whether the Ignore collations option is selected.	Off
Ignore database and server names for synonyms	Common	Ignores database and server names for synonyms during comparison and synchronization.	On
Ignore database extended properties	Common	Ignores the extended properties of the database. These properties are preserved after synchronization if the database that references them is rebuilt.	On
Ignore database object extended properties	Common	Ignores the extended properties of database objects. These properties are preserved after synchronization if an object that references them is rebuilt.	Off
Ignore datatypes in column	Common	Ignores column data types. Column data types in the target tables will be preserved if possible.	Off
Ignore DATA_COMPRESSION for tables, indexes, primary and unique constraints	Common	Ignores the DATA_COMPRESSION clause for tables, indexes, primary and unique key constraints. It will be preserved in the target.	On
Ignore event notification on queues	Common	Ignores an event notification on queues.	Off
Ignore filegroups and partition schemes/functions	Common	Ignores filegroups, partition schemes, and partition functions. It is selected by default as the tool doesn’t synchronize the aforementioned clauses but synchronizes the corresponding properties of tables, indexes, primary keys, and unique constraints.	Off
Ignore full-text catalog path	Common	Ignores the path in the full-text catalog.	Off
Ignore full-text search	Common	Ignores full-text stoplists, full-text catalogs, and full-text indexes. If these objects are altered or deleted during synchronization, they will be restored if possible.	Off
Ignore next filegroups	Common	Ignores next filegroups. Next filegroups in the target partition scheme will be preserved if possible.	Off
Ignore semicolons	Common	Ignores semicolons at the end of statements.	Off
Ignore tSQLt framework and unit tests	Common	Excludes tSQLt framework objects and unit tests from comparison and synchronization.	Off
Ignore user DEFAULT_SCHEMA	Common	Ignores the DEFAULT_SCHEMA setting for users.	On
Ignore permissions	Common	Ignores security permissions. Target database permissions will be preserved if possible.	Off
Ignore users’ permissions	Common	Ignores users’ permissions and roles memberships.	Off
Ignore user DEFAULT_LANGUAGE	Common	Ignores the DEFAULT_LANGUAGE setting for users.	Off
Ignore logins, certificates, asymmetric keys for users	Common	Ignores logins, certificates, and asymmetric keys, and synchronizes the corresponding user properties. Logins for users that exist in the target database will be preserved.	On
Populate full-text indexes	Common	Populates full-text indexes. It is not selected by default because creating full-text indexes with population is time-consuming.	Off
Quote object names with square brackets	Common	Quotes object names with square brackets during script generation.	On
Force column order	Tables	Causes table re-creation when new columns are added. Column order will be preserved. Otherwise, difference in column order will be ignored, and objects will be equal.	On
Ignore bound rules and defaults	Tables	Ignores bound rules and defaults to a column, set with sp_bindrule or sp_bindefault.	Off
Ignore default column collations	Tables	Ignores default column collations. If a column data type is changed to non-numeric, column collations will be canceled.	On
Ignore history table	Tables	Ignores history tables.	On
Ignore history table names	Tables	Ignores history tables names. They will be preserved in the target.	On
Ignore identity on columns	Tables	Ignores identity on columns. When selected, the Ignore identity seed and increment values option is applied too. Identity and its seed and increment values will be restored in the target.	Off
Ignore identity seed and increment values	Tables	Ignores identity seed and increment values. They will be preserved after synchronization. If a target column doesn’t have the IDENTITY property, after synchronization it will get this property but with default seed and increment values.	Off
Ignore LOCK_ESCALATION	Tables	Ignores the LOCK_ESCALATION setting for tables. It will be preserved in the target.	On
Ignore SENSITIVITY COLLATION	Tables	Ignores metadata about the sensitivity classification of source columns. Target column sensitivity classification metadata will be preserved if possible.	Off
Ignore table DML triggers	Triggers	Ignores DML triggers for tables. If they prevent the synchronization, triggers will be dropped and then restored. If a table is dropped, its triggers will be dropped regardless of whether the Ignore table DML triggers option is selected.	Off
Ignore INSTEAD OF triggers	Triggers	Ignores INSTEAD OF triggers for tables. If a view is dropped, its triggers will be dropped in both cases regardless of whether the Ignore INSTEAD OF triggers option is selected.	Off
Ignore state of DML triggers	Triggers	Ignores the state of DML triggers. State of DML triggers in the target database will be preserved if possible.	Off
Ignore state of DDL triggers	Triggers	Ignores the state of DDL triggers. State of DDL triggers in the target database will be preserved if possible.	Off
Ignore firing order for triggers	Triggers	Ignores the firing order for DDL and DML triggers.	Off
Ignore check constraints	Indexes and constraints	Ignores check constraints. Check constraints won’t be restored if, for example, the data type of the column it is related to was changed. In this case, the check constraint condition may become invalid.	Off
Ignore column order in indexes	Indexes and constraints	Ignores the column order for the included columns.	Off
Ignore constraint names	Indexes and constraints	Ignores constraint names. Check constraints will be preserved in the target.	Off
Ignore constraints’ system names	Indexes and constraints	Ignores system-generated constraint names, for example FK_Table1_Table2_1B1EE1BE.	On
Ignore default constraints	Indexes and constraints	Ignores default constraints and schema defaults. Default constraints and schema defaults won’t be restored after synchronization, for example, if the IDENTITY property has appeared in a column to which they are related.	Off
Ignore foreign key	Indexes and constraints	Ignores foreign keys. Foreign keys won’t be restored after synchronization, for example, if a referenced column has no primary key.	Off
Ignore foreign key actions ON UPDATE and ON DELETE	Indexes and constraints	Ignores cascading referential integrity constraints for foreign keys.	Off
Ignore indexes	Indexes and constraints	Ignores indexes in tables and views. Indexes won’t be restored after synchronization, for example, if one of their columns will be dropped.	Off
Ignore indexes’ names	Indexes and constraints	Ignores index names in tables and views. Names of indexes will be preserved in the target.	Off
Ignore NOCHECK state on constraints	Indexes and constraints	Ignores the NOCHECK clause for foreign keys and check constraints. It will be preserved in the target.	Off
Ignore NOT NULL constraint for a column	Indexes and constraints	Ignores the NOT NULL constraint for a column. The option is not applied to columns defined as a PRIMARY KEY constraint.	Off
Ignore PAD_INDEX and FILLFACTOR for indexes and constraints	Indexes and constraints	Ignores the PAD_INDEX and FILLFACTOR settings for indexes and constraints. The options will be preserved in the target.	Off
Ignore PAGE_LOCK and ROW_LOCK for indexes and constraints	Indexes and constraints	Ignores the ALLOW_PAGE_LOCK and ALLOW_ROW_LOCK settings for indexes and constraints. The options will be preserved in the target.	Off
Ignore primary keys	Indexes and constraints	Ignores differences in primary keys.	Off
Ignore sort direction (ASC/DESC) for index columns	Indexes and constraints	Ignores sort direction for index columns. It will be preserved in the target.	Off
Ignore statistics	Indexes and constraints	Ignores column statistics. If it prevents synchronization, it will be dropped and then restored with default options. Statistics won’t be restored after synchronization, for example, if its column is dropped.	Off
Ignore STATISTICS_NORECOMPUTE for indexes and constraints	Indexes and constraints	Ignores the STATISTICS_NORECOMPUTE setting for indexes and constraints. It will be preserved in the target.	Off
Ignore unique keys	Indexes and constraints	Ignores differences in unique keys. Unique keys won’t be restored after synchronization, for example, one of their columns was dropped.	Off
Ignore WITH NOCHECK state on constraints	Indexes and constraints	Ignores the WITH NOCHECK setting for constraints. It will be preserved in the target.	Off
Ignore CACHE	Sequences	Ignores the CACHE setting in sequences.	Off
Ignore CYCLE	Sequences	Ignores the CYCLE setting in sequences.	Off
Ignore INCREMENT BY	Sequences	Ignores the INCREMENT BY setting in sequences.	Off
Ignore MAXVALUE	Sequences	Ignores the MAX VALUE setting in sequences.	Off
Ignore MINVALUE	Sequences	Ignores the MIN VALUE setting in sequences.	Off
Ignore START WITH	Sequences	Ignores the START WITH setting in sequences.	On
Ignore DML and INSTEAD OF triggers present only in Target	Keep objects in target	Ignores DML triggers that exist only in the target when comparing and synchronizing tables or views.	Off
Ignore indexes present only in target	Keep objects in target	Ignores dropped indexes that exist only in the target when comparing and synchronizing tables or views.	Off
Ignore NOT FOR REPLICATION for indexes, constraints and triggers	Replications	Ignores the NOT FOR REPLICATION setting for indexes, constraints, and triggers. They will be preserved in the target.	Off
Ignore replicated tables	Replications	Ignores replication tables during comparison.	On
Ignore replication procedures	Replications	Ignores replication procedures. Procedures with names starting with “sp_MSupd_…”, “sp_MSins_…”, “sp_MSdel_…” will be ignored.	Off
Ignore replication roles	Replications	Ignores replication roles. Roles with names starting with “MSmerge_…” will be ignored.	Off
Ignore replication schemas	Replications	Ignores replication schemas. Schemas with names starting with “MSmerge_…” will be ignored.	Off
Ignore replication triggers	Replications	Ignores replication triggers. Triggers with names starting with “MSmerge_…” and “tr_MStran_…” will be ignored.	Off
Compare the original scripts of stored objects	Script Objects	Compares and synchronizes the original scripts of stored objects. This setting applies to the following types of objects: procedures, functions, views, and DDL and DML triggers.	On
Decrypt encrypted objects	Script Objects	Decrypts the bodies of encrypted objects for database comparison and synchronization. They are shown in the comparison results as usual script objects. If you compare encrypted objects in database with large bulks of data, selecting this option will slightly slow down comparison.	On
Ignore case	Script Objects	Ignores case differences in object definitions during database comparison. For example, objects with case differences will have the Equal status in the comparison results.	Off
Ignore comments	Script Objects	Ignores comments while comparing stored procedures, views, functions, etc. During synchronization, comments will be preserved in the body of the script object.	Off
Ignore keyword reduction	Script Objects	Ignores differences between full and short keyword names during database comparison. For example, PROC/PROCEDURE, EXEC/EXECUTE, TRAN/TRANSACTION, etc.	On
Ignore object names in definitions	Script Objects	Ignores object names in definitions during comparison.	Off
Ignore QUOTED_IDENTIFIER and ANSI_NULLS	Script Objects	Ignores the QUOTED_IDENTIFIER and ANSI_NULLS settings for stored procedures, functions, triggers, etc. They will be preserved in the target.	Off
Ignore signatures	Script Objects	Ignores signatures when comparing and synchronizing stored procedures, functions, triggers, and assemblies.	Off
Ignore white spaces	Script Objects	Ignores white spaces (new lines, tabs, spaces, etc.). Original white spaces in the scripts for database objects and computed columns are preserved.	On
Ignore WITH ENCRYPTION	Script Objects	Ignores differences in the WITH ENCRYPTION attribute.	Off
Ignore WITH option order	Script Objects	Ignores the order of elements in the WITH clause when comparing and synchronizing stored procedures, views, triggers, functions, and similar objects.	On

Note

When comparing database objects, such as procedures, views, triggers, and functions, dbForge Studio for SQL Server formats the SQL code according to the active formatting profile. This affects only how scripts appear in Text Compare.

To view only DDL differences without formatting applied, on the Text Compare toolbar, turn on Format Database Object Script . This option is available when Format Database Object Script in Text Compare is enabled. For more information, see Compare objects that differ only in formatting.