Roles
A role is a security principal that groups permissions to manage access to database objects. Instead of granting permissions to individual users one by one, you grant permissions to a role and then assign users to that role.
Database Explorer allows you to perform operations on roles using the shortcut menu. Right-click a role in Database Explorer to access commands for specific tasks, such as managing roles or search for them in Security Manager.
Create a role
You can create a role in one of these ways:
- In SQL Editor:
- Code completion to write a script.
- SQL snippets to insert predefined or custom code.
- In a visual Security Manager.
Edit a role
1. In Database Explorer, right-click the role and select Edit Role.
2. In Security Manager, update the role details.
3. On the SQL toolbar, click 
to save the changes.
Alternatively, in the top menu, select File > Save, or press Ctrl+S.
Duplicate a role
1. In Database Explorer, right-click a required role and select Duplicate Object.
2. In the Duplicate Object dialog, configure the object settings:
- In Destination database, select the target database.
- In New object name, specify the object name.
3. Click OK.
Delete a role
1. In Database Explorer, right-click the role you want to delete and select Delete, or press Delete.
2. Click Yes to confirm the deletion.
Note
You cannot undo the drop operation, as this action permanently deletes all its data and structure. It is recommended that you back up the database before deleting it.
Generate a script for a role
1. In Database Explorer, right-click a required role and select Generate Script As, then select the statement type.
2. Select the output option:
- To New SQL Window – Opens the script in a new SQL document.
- To File – Generates the script to a .sql file.
- To Clipboard – Copies the script to the clipboard.
For more information, see Generate the DDL and DML statements for database objects.
Find an object in Security Manager
1. In Database Explorer, right-click the role or Roles node and select Find in Security Manager.
2. Security Manager opens and highlights the object you look for.
View role properties
To view role properties, in Database Explorer, right-click the role or Roles node and select Show Details.
Object Viewer opens, displaying detailed information about the role.
Refresh roles
To update the role to reflect the latest changes, in Database Explorer, right-click the role or Roles node and select Refresh, or press F5.
Open the Properties window
To open the Properties window, in Database Explorer, right-click the role and select Properties, or press F4.
Filter roles
1. In Database Explorer, right-click the Roles node and select Filter.
2. In the Filter Settings dialog, configure the filter parameters.
3. Click OK to apply the filter.
Note
When you open the Roles node, the number of objects it contains appears in parentheses next to the node name. This number changes based on your filter settings.
Shortcut menu options for a specific role
The following table describes the shortcut menu options, which appear when you right-click a specific role in Database Explorer.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Edit Role | Opens Security Manager to update the role. |
| Source Control > Source Control Manager | Opens Source Control Manager, where you can track and manage changes to database schema and static data. When Source Control Manager is already open, this option refreshes it. |
| Source Control > Commit | Opens Source Control Manager with all local changes (if any) selected and ready to commit. When Source Control Manager is already open, this option refreshes it and selects all local database changes. |
| Source Control > Get Latest | Opens Source Control Manager with all remote changes (if any) selected, ready to pull using Get Latest. When Source Control Manager is already open, this option refreshes it and selects all remote database changes. |
| Duplicate Object | Opens the Duplicate Object dialog to duplicate the object. |
| Find in Security Manager | Opens Security Manager to find the selected role. |
| Generate Script As | Generates a script of the selected object using the CREATE, DROP, and DROP and CREATE statements. The script can be saved to a new SQL document or to a file, or copied to the clipboard. |
| Show Details | Opens Object Viewer to view object details. |
| Delete | Drops the selected object from the database. Shortcut: Delete |
| Refresh | Updates the object to reflect the latest changes. Shortcut: F5 |
| Properties | Opens the Properties pane to view the object information. Shortcut: F4 |
Shortcut menu options for the Roles node
The following table describes the shortcut menu options, which appear when you right-click the Roles node in Database Explorer.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Source Control > Source Control Manager | Opens Source Control Manager, where you can track and manage changes to database schema and static data. When Source Control Manager is already open, this option refreshes it. |
| Source Control > Commit | Opens Source Control Manager with all local changes (if any) selected and ready to commit. When Source Control Manager is already open, this option refreshes it and selects all local database changes. |
| Source Control > Get Latest | Opens Source Control Manager with all remote changes (if any) selected, ready to pull using Get Latest. When Source Control Manager is already open, this option refreshes it and selects all remote database changes. |
| Filter | Opens the Filter Settings dialog to control which roles should appear in Database Explorer. |
| Find in Security Manager | Opens Security Manager to find roles. |
| Show Details | Opens Object Viewer to view object details. |
| Refresh | Updates the object to reflect the latest changes. Shortcut: F5 |
Note
The Source Control shortcut menu is available only after you link the corresponding database to a source-control system.
Bulk operations
In Database Explorer, hold down Ctrl and select multiple roles. Then right-click the selection and select the required option.
The following table describes the shortcut menu options available for multiple roles.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Edit Role | Opens Security Manager to edit the selected roles. |
| Source Control > Source Control Manager | Opens Source Control Manager, where you can track and manage changes to database schema and static data. When Source Control Manager is already open, this option refreshes it. |
| Source Control > Commit | Opens Source Control Manager with all local changes (if any) selected and ready to commit. When Source Control Manager is already open, this option refreshes it and selects all local database changes. |
| Source Control > Get Latest | Opens Source Control Manager with all remote changes (if any) selected, ready to pull using Get Latest. When Source Control Manager is already open, this option refreshes it and selects all remote database changes. |
| Source Control > Link/Unlink Static Data | Opes the Source Control Link Static Data dialog that displays the tables whose data you want to link. |
| Generate Script As | Generates scripts of the selected objects using the CREATE, DROP, and DROP and CREATE statements. The scripts can be generated to a new SQL document or to a file, or copied to the clipboard. |
| Delete | Drops the selected roles from the database. Shortcut: Delete |
