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Data dictionary tools
List of tools that enable design and building of data dictionaries .
Data Dictionary is a set of important information about data used within an organization (metadata). This information includes names, definitions, and attributes about data, owners, and creators of assets. Data Dictionary tools provide insights into meaning and purposes of data elements. They add useful aliases about the scope and characteristics of data elements, as well as the rules for their usage and application.
Dataedo
Dataedo allows you to connect and scan metadata from multiple sources and build data dictionary automatically in a couple of minutes.
| Desktop/Cloud: | Desktop |
|---|---|
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Export: | HTML,MS Excel,PDF |
| Metadata stored in: | Documentation repository/file |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
|
| Notable features: | ER diagrams, metadata repository, schema change tracking, organizing with modules, documenting missing FKs, custom fields, description suggestions, documentation progress tracking, rich text with images |
| Runs on: (for desktop): | Mac OS,Windows |
Redgate SQL Doc
Redgate SQL Doc is a simple tool for describing and generating documentation of SQL Server automatically. For tables, you can edit descriptions for columns, indexes, triggers, and constraints; for views, you can edit descriptions for columns, indexes, and triggers. Object lists and database summaries also include editable description data.
| Desktop/Cloud: | Desktop |
|---|---|
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Export: | CHM,HTML,MS Word,PDF |
| Metadata stored in: | SQL Server extended properties |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
|
| Notable features: | Automatic documentation with editable objects descriptions |
| Runs on: (for desktop): | Windows |
Database Note Taker
Database Note Taker is free, making it easy to capture and share knowledge about your databases and simplify database documentation and data dictionary. It provides developers, support staff and even customers with quick and easy access to documentation.
| Desktop/Cloud: | Desktop |
|---|---|
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Export: | HTML |
| Metadata stored in: | SQL Server extended properties |
| Commercial: | Free |
| Free edition: |
|
| Notable features: | Notifies about empty descriptions, shows edit history |
| Runs on: (for desktop): | Windows |
ApexSQL Doc
ApexSQL Doc tool is a SQL database documentation tool that enables documenting SQL Server databases. It automates and schedules documentation unattended and provides fully customize documentation output.
| Desktop/Cloud: | Desktop |
|---|---|
| ER Diagram: |
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| Export: | CHM,HTML,MS Word,PDF |
| Metadata stored in: | SQL Server extended properties |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
|
| Notable features: | Integration with Management Studio (SSMS), Database UML diagrams, Graphical dependencies |
| Runs on: (for desktop): | Windows |
dbdesc
dbdesc is a powerful tool to help you document your databases. It can produce detailed documents describing your databases. It has a built-in extended property editor and documentation exporter.
| Desktop/Cloud: | Desktop |
|---|---|
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Export: | HTML,MS Word,PDF,RTF |
| Metadata stored in: | SQL Server extended properties |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
|
| Notable features: | Extended property editor, Documentation exporter |
| Runs on: (for desktop): | Windows |
Elasoft SqlSpec (discontinued)
SqlSpec is a database documentation tool that generates documentation about all the objects (tables, views, stored procedures, triggers, indexes, constraints, functions, etc) in your database. It has both GUI and command-line interface. It enables you to generate entity-relation diagrams.
| Desktop/Cloud: | Desktop |
|---|---|
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Export: | CHM,HTML |
| Metadata stored in: | Database metadata |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
|
| Notable features: | Documents also Analysis Services, Reporting Services, Integration Server |
| Runs on: (for desktop): | Windows |
SolarWinds Database Mapper
SolarWinds Database Mapper (formerly SentryOne Document) offers complete documentation for SQL Server databases and BI tools, including SSIS, SSRS, SSAS, Oracle, Hive, Tableau, Informatica, and Excel. In addition, it allows object description editing and documentation can be customized for different audiences, so users only see the most relevant information for their role.
| Desktop/Cloud: | Desktop |
|---|---|
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Export: | CHM,HTML,MS Word,RTF |
| Metadata stored in: | Documentation repository/file |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
|
| Notable features: | Lineage Analysis and Impact Analysis, include images |
| Runs on: (for desktop): | Windows |
Leadum DBScribe
DBScribe is a SQL documentation tool that automatically creates comprehensive technical documentation of every detail of your database schema. It provides description editor for tables (table, columns, indexes, foreign keys, triggers), views (view, columns), stored procedures (stored procedure, parameters), functions (function, parameters, columns), defaults, rules. Description data is saved using SQL Server extended properties.
| Desktop/Cloud: | Desktop |
|---|---|
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Export: | CHM,HTML,MS Word |
| Metadata stored in: | SQL Server extended properties |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
|
| Notable features: | Wizard and command line interfaces with highly customizable templates for professional-looking documentation styles. |
| Runs on: (for desktop): | Windows |
Yohz DB Doc
DB Doc is the documentation tool for PostgreSQL databases. The tool allows you to edit and update database object comments directly in DB Doc. It customizes the layouts to your needs and automates the documentation generation process so that you could even generate your database schema documents every hour, ensuring you'll always have the most up-to-date details.
| Desktop/Cloud: | Desktop |
|---|---|
| ER Diagram: | - |
| Export: | CHM,HTML,PDF |
| Metadata stored in: | PostgreSQL comments |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
|
| Notable features: | Customizable layout |
| Runs on: (for desktop): | Windows |
DTM Schema Reporter
DTM Schema Reporter is a documenting tool for database schema. With DTM Schema Reporter, you can analyze and audit database structure, create schema documentation, create a hard copy of the structure snapshots, etc.
| Desktop/Cloud: | Desktop |
|---|---|
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Export: | CHM,HTML,MS Excel,MS Word,PDF,Plain text,RTF,XML |
| Metadata stored in: | Database metadata |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
|
| Notable features: | Entity relationship diagrams |
| Runs on: (for desktop): | Windows |
xSQL Documenter
xSQL Documenter provides comprehensive, uniform, and easily navigable database documentation in HTML and compiled CHM format. It can run as a console application, useful for automating the process of generating documentation for your databases on a schedule, or for integrating xSQL Documenter into your development process.
| Desktop/Cloud: | Desktop |
|---|---|
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Export: | CHM,HTML |
| Metadata stored in: | Database metadata |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
|
| Notable features: | Dependency diagrams, Data model diagrams, Custom extended properties |
| Runs on: (for desktop): | Windows |
TechWriter for Databases
TechWriter for Databases is a documentation tool for databases that leverages the information locked inside your database to automatically produce database reference documentation.
| Desktop/Cloud: | Desktop |
|---|---|
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Export: | CHM,HTML,MS Word,PDF,RTF,XML,XPS |
| Metadata stored in: | SQL Server extended properties |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: | - |
| Notable features: | Ability to organize topics into a hierarchical table of contents |
| Runs on: (for desktop): | Windows |
DBMaster
DBMaster provides an easy way to search and build documentation to data structures for all team members. It also provides built-in change synchronization.
| Desktop/Cloud: | Desktop |
|---|---|
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Export: | HTML |
| Metadata stored in: | Program repository |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
|
| Notable features: | Automatic database administration with generating and sharing custom reports |
| Runs on: (for desktop): | Linux,Windows |
Data Dictionary Creator (discontinued)
Data Dictionary Creator (DDC) is a simple application which helps you document SQL Server databases. It stores all the information in Extended Properties, so it's easier to keep the documentation in sync with the database as it changes.
| Desktop/Cloud: | Desktop |
|---|---|
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Export: | HTML,MS Excel,MS Word |
| Metadata stored in: | SQL Server extended properties |
| Commercial: | Free |
| Free edition: |
|
| Notable features: | Extended properties support |
| Runs on: (for desktop): | Windows |
SQL Data Dictionary
SQL Data Dictionary is an easy to use tool to generate a PDF or HTML listing of all tables and views in your SQL Server database. It provides column level detail on SQL Server primary keys, data types, and defaults along with descriptions that enable you to easily find missing indexes and incorrect column definitions.
| Desktop/Cloud: | Desktop |
|---|---|
| ER Diagram: |
|
| Export: | HTML,PDF |
| Metadata stored in: | SQL Server extended properties |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
|
| Notable features: | Column level details, Description editor |
| Runs on: (for desktop): | Windows |
Key functionality of Data Dictionary tools is to give users the ability to document data. Moreover, very important is the possibility to create a collection of multiple repositories, based on different system engines. For a better understanding of the data, some tools allow visualization of the data structure using ERD (Entity-Relationship Diagrams).
From the organization's point of view, a community module within a data dictionary tool proves to be useful. It facilitates the proper information flow, as well as provides sharing opinions on specific objects among the members of an organization.
Nowadays, data discovery and understanding becomes crucial for proper organization performance. There are many benefits to using Data Dictionaries, such as:
• helps avoid data inconsistencies problems,
• it allows introducing unified nomenclature used in the project,
• Make data searchable, and understandable,
• Create a single source of truth about the data from different repositories,
The prepared list includes simple, open-source data dictionaries as well as more advanced software.