Suggestions For Future Release
EsioN
Posts: 103
1 - Please consider, in Diferences Panel, color the diference lines. It will help a lot to identify what is wrong. There is a file compare tool (Beyonde Compare -> http://www.scootersoftware.com/) that has a incredible compare interface. Toolbar to jump to next diferences, color in panels, etc.
May be a good idea take a look in this.
2 - When I navigate from diferences grid to diferences panel (where the script was generetade), I lost wich object I was working with. Please consider to color the diferent objects grid.
Thanks
Ésio
May be a good idea take a look in this.
2 - When I navigate from diferences grid to diferences panel (where the script was generetade), I lost wich object I was working with. Please consider to color the diferent objects grid.
Thanks
Ésio
Comments
Crispin
1) The grouping of types of objects into:-
a) Objects in both that existing in both but are different
b) Objects that exist only in DB1
c) Objects that exist only in DB2
d) identical objects
This feature which may look nice I find quite annoying. By default sql Compare assumes that you want to synchronise all objects. So after un-ticking a whole load of changes in one group, its easy to forget to check the other groups. I miss the good old list all objects together and sort by status. Can the grouping be optionally turned off. Also why do the group headings take up so much space?
2) The colour coding of differences between scripts. In the old version it would set the background colour of lines that were missing/new/or changes. However now it only colours the characters that are different. New/Removed bits only show with a small little arrow in the middle. I'd like to see an option to colour code the whole lines, maybe still highlighting actually changed characters with a slightly darker colour.
3) As well as the general creation Sql differences view, the old version let you see the portion of the Synch SQL in either direction (DB1 to DB2 or DB2 to DB1) E.g. the Alter scripts. The new version seems to have dropped this useful feature.
4) The synchronisation Wizard. The new version forces you to decide the direction of your changes before you sync. In the old version you would select what DB would receive the changes at the last minute. Now you have to use the slightly hidden "Actions -> Switch Comparison Direction". The new version makes it a lot clearer but why not have a shortcut on the wizard and also on the button bar. Note: I've just realised I can double can double click on the direction arrow to reverse things. Maybe a few option boxes or buttons would make this more obvious to the novice.
5) The new version seems to chew up a lot more of your screen real-estate. Things like the "Synchronisation direction" are always shown, even when I'm wanting to look at the detail of the changes. Can these things be hidden, or at least moved up to the top toolbar (abit like IE's toolbars allow)
6) The grouping in the SQL Differences, again the grouping headings take up a little bit to much screen space. The old version continued to use the normal face.
Anyway thanks for producing such a great product and keep up the good work.
Rob
P.S. A final feature I'd quite like to see, on the activation code. We tend to rebuild machines here fairly often. Could there be an option to include a note against the activation details sent to Red Gate. This note could automatically populate with the machine name of the PC being activated. I appreciate this note couldn't really be trusted to be accurate. However it would be useful when it comes to asking Red gate what happened to all our activations.
Thanks for the feedback, we have had quite a few comments about the SQL Compare Differences Panel and we do note them all. We may look into improvements such as jump to differences in the next full version of SQL Compare.
Regards,
Jonathan
-Project Manager
-Red Gate Software Ltd
Rob
Thanks for the feedback, I will try to answer your points as best as possible:
1) The suggestion to have an option to allow you to switch between the old list style and the new grouping style has cropped up quite a few times. I prefer the list style too and we are seriously considering putting this back in for future versions.
2) We made the change in the script colour coding to make it easier to see of differences between lines. However, I can see your point that colouring the entire line as well could help in finding differences. Again this is an area we will look into improving in future versions.
3) Can you check which version of SQL Compare you are using as this has feature has been restored in v5.2.0, in the form of a button on the SQL Difference panel. It is next to the "View T-SQL in groups" check box.
4) As long as users haven't switched off the interactive help then they should be prompted as to what the arrow does, but I agree that there is always room for improvement.
5 and 6) Something like and F11 full screen option? I can definelately suggest it. But I imagine that if we allow users to return to the list view then this will solve most of the real-estate issues.
Regards,
Jonathan
-Project Manager
-Red Gate Software Ltd
1. Remember the position / size of the differences pane. When I start SQLCompare and then select a new / different object, the differences pane is way too small as far as I'm concerned. So I end up resizing the lower pane
2. When working in the grouped mode (as opposed to the hopefully to be reimplemented list mode) what about changing the upper pane overview this way: You start with four groups (different, new here, new there, same). When I unfold a group I might end up with the category header being scrolled out of sight. What if the group header would still be visible but only scroll within the group's contents, i.e. have a "top-level" scroller to scroll between groups / categories and the "lower-level" scroller to scroll within the contents of a group / category. This way I could (a) easily see the context (yes, the arrows also indicate context, but to me it's not the same) and (b) I could quickly collapse the one category and move on.
3. Before 5.2 we're using 3.x and this allowed me to choose the location of the project files. We usually store the project files in VSS and have a rather strict VSS directory structure. With the ability of projects to "remember" my last selection of important items, I could version control my SQLCompare projects based on my current development projects.
4. Move the Save Script button to the Sync Wizard: As we're running through strict change management, all I can do is script the SQL and send it to the deployment staff. However with 5.2 I need to go to the wizard, view the script and then save it. Moving the save button (or adding another save button) to the Sync Wizard's main form, would save that click
Thanks for considering these
Regards
Kai Iske
Hi,
We've now reinstated the ability to explicitly save projects to any location in the file system. Please could you give the SQL Compare beta a go and let us know if this doesn't solve the problem for you.
The beta can be found at: http://www.red-gate.com/MessageBoard/vi ... php?t=8303
Thanks!
David Atkinson
Product Manager
Red Gate Software
Product Manager
Redgate Software