MS_Description

rgfriend

After I generate the SQL doc, since most of our ms_description is empty, I would like a business writer who knows more about the metadata and knows how to define the tables and columns in a business wording,  to write the description, then later I will reload into database.
The business user will not have access of SQL doc software and I don't want her to directly use SSMS to update the production database columns' extended properties.
What is the best approach to do this?

Can she directly update the MS_Description in the generated word doc, then I will later load into SQL doc project again, and save to database?
or what other easier options ?

Thanks,

Jon_Kirkwood

Hi @rgfriend

 Thank you for reaching out on the Redgate forums regarding your SQL Doc query.

The major usage of SQL Doc is for extracting details from your SQL Server instances and creating documentation. In that regards the majority of its work is pulling data from SQL Server, not pushing it in.

 

Having said that you can enter in MS_Description fields and update the SQL object. This is a manual process and conducted an object at a time.

 

In your scenario I could imagine that your business writer would create a document that references the SQL object + the description field. 

Then you would go into SQL Doc and manually select the object, enter the description and then select the 'Save changes to database' button.

 

 Depending on the amount of objects to update this could be time consuming.

Other options I have seen used is creation of a SQL script that can read in the data and update fields automatically. This may be better done in a formatted file such as JSON or CSV where each object + description record could be reliably accessed and updated in a script. 

 

I found this blog post that may be of assistance in that endeavor - https://www.red-gate.com/simple-talk/devops/database-devops/scripting-description-database-tables-using-extended-properties/

rgfriend

Thank you all, your answers are very helpful, I will look into them.