SQL Compare®
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Can SQL Compare cope with very large databases?
Yes. SQL Compare has been designed to work with the very largest commercial databases (e.g. SAP in Fortune 100 companies). For example, we've successfully tested the SQL Bundle on databases of 100s of GB in size, with 150,000+ database objects.
What is the latest version and how do I download it?
The latest version of SQL Compare is version 6. If you are a new user, you can download it and try it out for 14 days. If you are a current customer, you can upgrade to the latest version, by performing a Check for Updates from the Help menu of the program.
Does SQL Compare work with Microsoft SQL Server 6.5/Oracle/Sybase?
Red Gate's SQL Compare works only with Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and 2005.
How much will it cost me to upgrade to the latest version?
To find out how much it will cost to upgrade to the latest version, please see our page about upgrading.
I have downloaded the latest version but don't want to upgrade. How can I revert to my previous version?
You can run SQL Bundle 5 in parallel with a previous version of SQL Bundle.
I haven't completed my evaluation and would like to extend my trial period. How can I do this?
Again, this is possible. Please contact us for further information.
What are the license conditions?
By visiting the relevant licensing page on this website, you can read full license details.
To redistribute the SQL Compare command line tool with your applications, you must purchase a SQL Toolkit license.
Why have I not received an activation response when activating my software via email?
The activation server looks for the XML data in the activation request. HTML formatted emails make it difficult for the activation server to locate the activation request in the message, and when it's not found, the server simply gives up and discards the email. To prevent this, always ensure that activation requests via email are in plain-text format rather than HTML.
Is SQL Compare slow compared to other database comparison tools (such as Embarcadero Change Manager / Erwin etc.)?
Based on our most recent testing we could find no tools that are faster than SQL Compare. Our benchmarking shows that it is the fastest tool on the market by some way. However, we didn't write SQL Compare to be as fast as it could possibly be, since we wanted to be sure that it would be scalable and work with very large databases (see above). SQL Compare 4.x is up to 5 times faster than SQL Compare 3.x when there are large numbers of stored proceedures.
Moreover, SQL Compare's scripting, script execution times, dependency engine and ease of comparing and synchronizing databases are significantly better than anything else on the market.
The current version of SQL Compare is up to 100 times faster than versions 2.x.
Does SQL Compare work with Microsoft SQL Server 2005?
SQL Compare has been completely reengineered to make the most of SQL Server 2005. You can compare and synchronize all SQL Server 2005 objects including: XML schema collections, CLR Assemblies, DDL Triggers, Message types, Contracts, Services, Routes, Event notifications, Queues, Synonyms, Partition functions, Partition schemes, Service binding, Certificate (partial support), Symmetric key (partial support) Asymmetric key (partial support), and New datatypes (e.g. varchar(MAX)). If you browse our developer blogs, you'll get an idea about what a wonderful feat of engineering this has been.
I have stored procedures with different comments in them, but I want to ignore these when comparing. How can I do this?
You can use the Comparison -> Options menu and make sure that the Ignore Comments is checked.
I have a table in two databases which are identical, but the column order is different. I want SQL Compare to ignore this difference.
Go to the Comparison -> Options menu and make sure Force table column order is not checked.
I'm comparing a SQL 7 database with a SQL 2000 database, and I'm getting loads of collation order differences. What can I do?
Go to the Comparison -> Options menu and make sure Ignore collation order is checked.
Will SQL Compare work on earlier versions of .NET?
No. SQL Compare is a .NET 2.0 application.
I don't want to see all the objects on the grid. Can I set a filter?
Yes. Simply use the filter panel to set up the filters as you wish. Notice that objects that you filter from the grid will not be synchronized.
The side-by-side comparison screen is showing differences even though I've told it to ignore spaces/comments.
The comparison screen simply shows the scripts for the objects as they are defined and where they differ. Even if you have chosen to ignore comments, the comments will still be shown, and you will see these differences.
I want to connect two databases which are on servers which aren't physically connected. How can I do this?
SQL Compare lets you create snapshots of databases for offline comparison. Create a snapshot of the first database by going to the File -> Create database snapshot option, and then compare this against the live database by using the More button on the comparison settings dialog.
Why can't I see the definition of encrypted objects on SQL Server 2005?
Microsoft has improved its encryption standards.
How do I make scripts SQL Server 7 compatible?
If you are comparing databases and want to run the scripts on a SQL Server 7 server, or want to ignore features not available in SQL 2000, then you should set the following options:
Ignore collation order
Ignore INSTEAD OF triggers
In addition, you might need to manually modify the scripts to remove references to, for example, ascending indexes and computed columns containing user-defined functions.
If a script fails, or if I cancel, will it roll back any changes it has made?
In most circumstances changes will be rolled back if, for whatever reason, a script fails. There are, however, some circumstances in which this is not possible:
- Full text information cannot be altered inside a transaction. For example, catalogs cannot be dropped, or indexing added to a column.
- Users and roles cannot be created, dropped or altered inside a transaction. For example, a user cannot be created or added to a role.
- If you have chosen not to include transactional plumbing, then SQL Compare will not attempt to use transactions. See SQL Compare options for more details.
Note that, in the first two cases, SQL Compare will roll back all the changes that it can, but your database will be in an undetermined state and you will need to run another comparison.
SQL Compare will always warn you if it was unable to roll back changes.
Can I save the results?
You can export the results to a HTML or EXCEL format by using the appropriate file choice in the Menu under Tools -> Export Comparison Results.
How do I compare databases with a binary sort order?
If you have databases with binary sort order then you should use the Treat items as case sensitive option. Note that this is not a setting you should change frequently. In particular, if you are comparing an offline database snapshot (.snp) file with another snapshot or live database, and the case sensitive option has changed, then SQL Compare may give unexpected errors.
I am getting an error to do with full text catalogs. Why?
Under some circumstances (for example, when restoring a database from a backup) the full text catalogs for a database are in an invalid state. You should rebuild them from the SQL Enterprise Manager before running SQL Compare.
When synchronizing to a scripts folder and a table definition needs to be changed in the SQL file, will SQL Compare 6.0 Pro preserve the formatting of the table?
No, it will not. It will, however, preserve the formatting of textual objects, like stored procedures, functions and views.
Can I specify the folder hierarchy where SQL creation scripts should be created in SQL Compare 6.0 Pro?
Yes. You can set these in the Tools -> Application Options... menu.
Can SQL Compare read in a database schema for a single SQL file as opposed to a structure where there is a SQL file for every database object?
Yes. SQL Compare 6.0 Pro will read in the schema from any number of files and determines the dependency order automatically.
When synchronizing to a scripts folder, will SQL Compare delete the file that contains the definition of a database object that is to be deleted?
No. SQL Compare will blank this file, and remove the object definition, together with unnecessary GO statements. The file is not deleted on purpose, so that source control systems do not consider the file to be missing, and do not retrieve the latest version, and thus reversing the database object deletion.
I have SQL Compare 6.0 Standard edition. Can I read the database schema from a set of SQL files?
You must have SQL Compare 6 Pro for this.
Can SQL Compare handle stored procedures and functions that were renamed using sp_rename?
Yes. If a database schema has become inconsistent due to the use of sp_rename, and a stored procedure or a function definition refers to a different name from what is in the system tables, SQL Compare 6 automatically fixes these inconsistencies.
Can I integrate SQL Compare with my source control system?
SQL Compare Pro Edition includes SQL Changeset for integrating with source control systems. SQL Changeset works with VSS-style source control (checkin / edit / checkout) to make it simpler and easier to get latest version and list appropriate files for checking out and checking in. For further information about known issues with certain packages, please consult the Troubleshooting section of the online help files.
