What's New in SQLMerger

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For version 2.5, release date 22. April 2009
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* Better speed: when opening data, when copying large datasets, when generating SQL and much more
* New. Lookup definitions lines now embedded in master grid of merge items, making it much easier to overview the project
* Improved detection of lookup fields. Can now use the database schema also on some database types
* New. Cascading lookups - allowing lookups to lookup from other lookups and traverse multiple tables to get to the needed lookup value. Editable!
* New. Handled key fields; allows you to generate keys for a field/table via a stored procedure in your database. Very nice if you don’t want to use identity/auto increment keys
* New. Continue after error in script. Works together with delete committed statements
* New. Log into a number of different database systems directly
* New. Added support for merging table schemas (early), only supports fields and of a limited number of types
* New. New merge item type: script items, which are items only containing script statements to be put into final scripts
* New. Copy a single field value from source quickly, via "Copy field value from Source"
* New. Switch between source and target connection settings, via a single click
* New. Added support for dropping SQLMerger project files onto the SQLMerger main window, and have it open the dropped file
* It is now possible to edit the value of a field used in the key. It is also possible to mark the record for deletion even though the key value have been edited
* Now only generates script when the data is 'dirty', this mean that you can click back on the Merge tab and then return to the Script tab, without your manual edits in the script is being lost, because new script was generated
* Can now find more lookup fields; fieldnames with _ is taken into consideration as candidates
* Can now match keys fields on text and it is optionally case sensitively
* Lookup display fields can now not only be string fields, but many other types
* It is now possible, via a setting on a merge item, to use the target database for source data also. This can be very convenient, especially when copying data
* When scripting, project items can now be multi-selected
* Improved auto add lookup fields dialog, now display-text fields can be selected among all fields in the foreign table, via a dropdown list
* Improved Quick Locator, now you can select it and press return to get to the item previously entered
* Improved script generation: inserts now have comments after each value so it is easy to see what field the value goes into, in long statements
* Execute Scripts, can now divide statements via GO
* Initial animation while generating SQL provides feedback (the first lines are added with a small delay)
* Added splitters in SQL query area
* "Script" menu now have a Save menu item (not only a "Save as" as previously)
* When copying data from source to destination the program checks if all fields exists and informs about discrepancies
* When opening both databases at the same time, the logon dialogs will now be displayed before the data is opened
* If there is no query in source or target, one is added now automatically after the user is prompted
* Improved several merge actions, now they can be invoked while data is not already open, then they will open the data. This improves work speed
* When comparing string fields, blanks to the right is now cut of first
* Added F8 key to make script and other shortcut keys
* Changed how new data are added. Now you can press Insert and have a line inserted anywhere
* Improved handling of extensions and initial locations when opening and saving scripts
* Info buttons improves help system
* Improved tools bars with new and more icons
* Open project via file association (double click a project icon in Windows and SQLMerger is started with the project open)

Bugs Fixed:

Other:

* New licensing model

Beta versions fixes:

* Fixed a problem getting primary keys after changes for supporting schemas.
* Improved handling when using an invalid (misspelled?) key.
* Improved handling locating records when key fields are null.
* Improved handling of handled key field, if value already supplied by input or query, now no new value is generated and included.
* Improved: now, when specifying an Identity key, no value will be added for it in insert statements.
* Improved: now statistical panel does not count record where SQLMerger is unable to determine if record is really local, e.g. if no key column or key value is null.
* Now text color is target grid is always black when cells are colorized, so it is easier to read.
* SQL text is now copied to clipboard both as plain text and nicely formatted RFT text and HTML text.
* Fixed a problem hiding demo texts sometimes.
* Added some short cut keys to set some fixed sizes for the main screen.
* Screen position cannot be restored after start up now, to a negative position.
* Fixed: Move and restore could not be used from the windows taskbar command menu.

* Fixed a problem repopulating history string when making a new project and then populating the project
* Fixed a problem when using schemas for 'naming' (grouping) tables. Now supports schemas
* Fixed a problem adding 'self-referencing' lookups
* Now supports adding lookups automatically also when tables are on different schemas
* Now also uses "Title" and "Description" as candidates for display fields, for lookups
* Auto add lookups dialog is now sizable
* Auto add lookups: the "Create" checkbox is now only checked if valid key and display text fields could be detected
* Added progress indication on add lookups on project
* Moved “suggestion table name“ in the Add/Edit lookup dialog to support longer tables names
* Optimized adding lookups for project; much faster now
* Improved intro text

* Improved: now detects combined primary keys automatically
* Fixed: error about RecID showing up when using Microsoft Dynamics Axapta, with SQL Server.
* Added "Local in source count" information to statistical panel
* Statistical labels are now dark red color if they display active information (other vise black)
* Fixed: now updating statistical panels when there is a new primary key entered
* Improved locating opposite side records when locating on non-unique key and appending records manually
* Improved handling adding new lines in target
* Fixed: when adding lookup definitions, target was closed
* Fixed: Access Violation when selecting a field type in the Merge tab
* Improved layout of statistics panel
* Project window larger, so it can show the entire demo project.
* Merge schema copy fields function, will now display a message when using the demo databases (it is not supported)
* Fixed: Information texts was scrolled to bottom initially on Vista (not XP)

* Fixed a problem with new item row after cancelling inserting first line
* Fixed a bug adding first line, without leaving last edited field
* Fixed a bug appearing after inserting first line, not executing script and reopening the empty dataset.
* Now adding "(local)" as a server name if using a SQL Server connection.
* Now adding "(localhost)" as a default server name if using a MySQL connection.
* Fixed a problem when adding the first merge item and a previous project was loaded, user was asked if wanting to copy from previously selected item.
* Improved merge item edits panel: now possible to size all edits. More compact layout. Misc. improvements.
* Improved detection of when to analyze database structure.
* Improved: When opening 2nd database and analyzing it, the other data view is no longer closed, but are kept open.
* Fixed a problem with query splitter min. size

* Fixed a problem displaying lookups directly in the project grid
* Fixed a problem with error messages popping up when using a non-existing key name
* Fixed a problem when closing the application sometimes
* Fixed a problem with validating item names
* Fixed a spelling problem

* Added direct support for MySQL databases.
* First time start up is now in a normal windows state, not maximized. (But adjusted to the screen)
* Changed close demo button. Now shows a text and an icon and have a hint.
* Fixed a problem with the toolbar when sizing the main window
* Removed splitter under Demo area
* Now painting splitters with a stippling, so they are easy to spot
* Wider splitters on merge and query tabs
* Interactive splitting (controls are repainting continuously)
* Fixed a problem with error handling when opening an ad-hoc query with errors in the SQL.
* Fixed a problem with displaying open database connection information
* Removed combo boxes from Sybase connections (replaced by edits)
* Fixed a problem with sometimes a message was displayed about inserting
* Fixed a spelling error built-in
* Now default database names are set for build in type
* Added a scroll box in the database tab, so no controls can be made invisible by sizing areas
* Added Show Demo Area button
* Removed flickering while resizing
* Unique names are now enforced
* Non blank names are now enforced
* Some new icons in toolbar, removed some icons from tabs

* Some new icons in the toolbar
* Fixed a problem "Cannot focus a disabled window" when clicking on "Add lookups" when no ODBC alias entered.
* New text in the initial information window.
* Fixed problem when a new project was automatically populated, the first initial item was left un-reused. It is now used for the first detected table, after being converted to a "possible" item type.
* Better error message when merge table schema finds an unknown field type. Plus it is survived.
* Improved: when entering a database name edit, the list is now always repopulated it the server has been changed since last enter.
* Improved: when opening a database, the program now also asks to populate the project, if all either source or target table names are empty in the merge items.
* Fixed a bug showing if database name was left empty prior to clicking "Connected" checkbox.
* Fixed a bug when using "Save project as" as choosing an existing file, 2 different confirmation dialogs was displayed.
* Merge Schema, does now recognize more types and survives all types in SQL Server 2005 8although some blob types are not handled correctly, as they show up as stings).
* Changed a text in "Table Merge"
* Fixed a problem copying fields to target schema
* After copying field definitions, grid is now not scrolled to end

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For version 2.1.2, release date 26. Feb. 2008
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Added Features:
* On the Script tab, a new checkbox "Auto-commit after each statement" can now be checked to allow for immediate commit, to speed up long scripts, in special cases.

Improvements of existing features:
* Can now update project with primary keys from target database during 'populate project'.
* Improved the Quick Locator edit.

Bugs Fixed:
* Fixed a problem with adding items to a project when only one of source or target alias had been entered.
* Fixed multi-selection in source grid.
* Fixed a problem with first item after New Project

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For version 2.1.1, release date 28. Jan. 2008
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* Fixed a problem with enabling menu options after opening databases.
* Fixed a problem painting target grid when unable to locate source records because no ID field identified.
* Fixed a problem generating inserts for wide string fields.
* Fixed a problem with build in demo on Windows 2000.
* Fixed a problem with saving a settings file when exiting the application in Windows 2000.

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For version 2.1, release date 16. Jan. 2008
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Added Features:
* Output table documentation in a XML format. This is a great feature for quickly extracting documentation from the database. You can then easily convert the XML to HTML, doc or Excel files and have your documentation ready in seconds.
* Memo-fields editor: makes it much easier to edit and see big texts in the database. Now when you edit a memo field, an inline dropdown editor for large texts is coming up. You can then OK or Cancel your changes.
* "Big fields" area, for improved handling of large texts. One text in the tables can be displayed completely below each line, e.g. letting a memo field have all its contents displayed on screen.
* Source and target data base aliases now remembers history via a "Most Resent Used" list. This makes it much easier to go back and have a look e.g. in the ‘previous version’ database and in general it frees you from remembering or looking up many aliases names.
* When generating SQL for deleting records, the records original data contents is included as a comment. This even includes lookup values. This makes it possible to restore a record from looking at the script, even though the lines were deleted.
* Now supports column filtering. You can then filter the visible data on-the-fly with almost any imaginable field value filtering.

Improvements of existing features:
* Improved speed when editing large target datasets manually.

Other:

Bugs Fixed:
* Fixed a problem with using target database lookup data for source data.
* Fixed a problem with using arrow up and down keys while editing target data.
* Fixed a faulty message about not being able to locate a record, if the dataset was empty (e.g. the target).

* Fixed a problem with loading and saving the identity field name.
* Fixed a problem adding lookups on merge setup items with WHERE clauses.
* Fixed a problem with coloring fields when no primary key had been specified.

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For version 2.0, release date 10. Dec. 2007
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Added Features:
* Populates project automatically by investigating the databases
* Apply text styles on columns
* Replace text in columns
* Hide some merge setup items feature

Improvements of existing features:
* Much faster data load
* Lookups added on source data
* Better automatically lookup creation
* Query text in "Source SQL Query" and "Target SQL Query" can now be partially selected and only the selected part will be executed. This enables you to add a WHERE clause, but to still be able to not use it sometimes, without deleting it.

Other:
* Added build in demo feature

Bugs Fixed:
* Blob fields could not be copied without a warning about truncation.
* Problem with comments in texts that was changed. This was because the comments were included in the new statements comment, so they were embedded. This is solved now by making them separate comments.
* And more.

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For version 1.2, release date 11. May 2005
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Bugs Fixed:
* Fixed problem med lookup shown in the wrong place
* Fix misc. errors when working without a project
* Fixed a problem when editing lookup definitions and not selecting a lookup first
* Fixed a problem with BDE installation

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For version 1.1, release date 14. Oct. 2004
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Added Features:
* You can now easily see whether or not there are lookup fields defined for a table configuration
* Support for identity columns. Enter the name of the identity columns and it will e.g. not be included in resulting statements
* Now previous values are displayed as comments in updates
* If changed values are associated to a lookup field, the value of the lookup will also be added as comment in update statements

Bugs Fixed:
* Fixed a problem with some types of date fields

Improvements of existing features:
* None

Other:
* Lower price

Known Bugs:
* None

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For version 1.0.2, release date 16. Marts 2004
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Added Features:
* None

Bugs Fixed:
* Fixed a problem with SQL comments in text fields
* Fixed a problem with “;” in text fields
* Fixed a problem, when destination was opened with new data and source was also open, but with different data
* Fixed a problem with long fieldnames in lookup definitions
* Fixed some other minor problems
* Fixed a problem with copy line if there were lookup-fields in the destination. Not all fields were copied
* Fixed a problem with having changed table names saved
* Fixed a problem when removing insert check marks in destination data set
* Fixed a problem with deleting some table setups

Improvements of existing features:
* None

Other:
* None

Known Bugs:
* None

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For version 1.0.1, release date 21. Nov. 2003
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Added Features:
* None

Bugs Fixed:
* Various minor problems fixed

Improvements of existing features:
* None

Other:
* Help is now in HTML format.

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For version 1.0, release date 21. Oct. 2003
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This is the initial release.