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Database documentation tools for SQL Server
List of tools that allow the documentation (e.g. with descriptions) of schema of your databases.
Database documentation is a set of descriptions of the data, that facilitate management, maintenance, and retrieval of resources. Documentation can take many forms, however, it usually acts as a data catalog that holds detailed information about the table schema, all relationships, data types, etc. Description of datasets as well as single data objects also is referred to as metadata (data about the data).
Dataedo
Dataedo enables you to catalog, document and understand your data with Data Dictionary, Business Glossary and ERDs. It enables to document your databases and share documentation in interactive HTML.
| Data Lineage: |
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| Runs on: (for desktop): | Windows |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
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| Allows editing: |
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| Metadata stored in: | External repository |
| Export: | HTML,MS Excel,PDF |
| ER Diagram: |
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Redgate SQL Doc
Redgate SQL Doc is a simple tool for describing and generating documentation of SQL Server automatically. It eliminates the tedious and time-consuming manual documentation tasks and enables you to satisfy audit requirements by keeping complete documentation.
| Data Lineage: | - |
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| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
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| Allows editing: |
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| Metadata stored in: | Database comments/extended properties |
| Export: | CHM,HTML,MS Word,PDF |
| ER Diagram: |
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| Dependencies: |
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dbForge Documenter for SQL Server
dbForge Documenter for SQL Server is a universal software solution that helps automate the creation of your database documentation. It extracts an extensive database info including a wide range of SQL object types, their details and properties, inter-object dependencies, and DDL codes.
| Data Lineage: | - |
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| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
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| Allows editing: |
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| Metadata stored in: | Database comments/extended properties |
| Export: | HTML,PDF |
| ER Diagram: |
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Database Note Taker
Database Note Taker is free, making it easy to capture and share knowledge about your databases and simplify database documentation. It provides developers, support staff and even customers with quick and easy access to documentation.
| Data Lineage: | - |
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| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Free |
| Free edition: |
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| Allows editing: |
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| Metadata stored in: | External repository |
| Export: | HTML |
| ER Diagram: |
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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.
| Data Lineage: | - |
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| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
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| Allows editing: |
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| Metadata stored in: | External repository |
| Export: | CHM,HTML,MS Word,PDF |
| ER Diagram: |
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| Dependencies: |
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dbdesc
dbdesc is a powerful tool to help you document your databases. It can produce detailed documents describing your databases. Now dbdesc includes a built-in report engine and report viewer to easily browse database documentation.
| Data Lineage: | - |
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| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
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| Allows editing: |
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| Metadata stored in: | Database comments/extended properties |
| Export: | HTML,MS Word,PDF,RTF |
| ER Diagram: |
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| Dependencies: |
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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.
| Data Lineage: | - |
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| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
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| Allows editing: |
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| Metadata stored in: | Database comments/extended properties |
| Export: | CHM,HTML |
| ER Diagram: |
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| Dependencies: |
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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, the documentation can be customized for different audiences, so users only see the most relevant information for their role.
| Data Lineage: | - |
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| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
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| Allows editing: |
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| Metadata stored in: | External repository |
| Export: | CHM,HTML,MS Word,RTF |
| ER Diagram: |
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| Dependencies: |
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Spectral Core Documenter
Spectral Core Documenter is the easiest way to generate detailed documentation of your database. All tables, procedures, functions, triggers, and user-defined types are listed with every detail.
| Data Lineage: | - |
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| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
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| Allows editing: |
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| Metadata stored in: | Database comments/extended properties |
| Export: | CHM,HTML |
| ER Diagram: |
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| Dependencies: |
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Leadum DBScribe
DBScribe is a SQL documentation tool that automatically creates comprehensive technical documentation of every detail of your database schema. DBScribe SQL documentation tool helps prevent from long routing documenting work and synchronization with database changes, enabling to perform precise database documentation.
| Data Lineage: | - |
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| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
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| Allows editing: |
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| Metadata stored in: | Database comments/extended properties |
| Export: | CHM,HTML,MS Word |
| ER Diagram: |
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| Dependencies: |
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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.
| Data Lineage: | - |
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| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
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| Allows editing: |
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| Metadata stored in: | Database comments/extended properties |
| Export: | CHM,HTML,MS Excel,MS Word,PDF,Plain text,RTF,XML |
| ER Diagram: |
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| Dependencies: |
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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.
| Data Lineage: | - |
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| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
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| Allows editing: |
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| Metadata stored in: | Database comments/extended properties |
| Export: | CHM,HTML |
| ER Diagram: |
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| Dependencies: |
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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 for Access, MySQL, Oracle, SAS, SQL Server, PostgreSQL and DB2 databases.
| Data Lineage: | - |
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| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
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| Allows editing: |
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| Metadata stored in: | Database comments/extended properties |
| Export: | CHM,HTML,MS Word,PDF,RTF,XML,XPS |
| ER Diagram: |
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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.
| Data Lineage: | - |
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| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Commercial |
| Free edition: |
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| Allows editing: |
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| Metadata stored in: | Database comments/extended properties |
| Export: | HTML |
| ER Diagram: |
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| Dependencies: |
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SchemaSpy
Free and open source tool that generates interactive entity relationship diagrams to HTML from database schema. Requires Java 5 or higher.
| Data Lineage: | - |
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| Runs on: (for desktop): | - |
| Commercial: | Free |
| Free edition: |
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| Allows editing: |
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| Metadata stored in: | External repository |
| Export: | HTML |
| ER Diagram: |
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| Dependencies: |
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Database documentation tools support data management by creating helpful descriptions, meaningful aliases, and annotating data assets with additional elements. The tools capture all the relevant information about the metadata and make it available to the users in a convenient way (tabular or graphical). The features of documentation tools can vary widely. The tools allow users to:
• Facilitate datasets with meaningful descriptions/aliases,
• Create relational diagrams,
• Advance search of resources,
• Track schema changes,
• Document repositories from various sources, through compatibility with many database engines,
• Automatic documentation export to user-friendly formats and easy-to-share formats (HTML, PDF, Excell )
Developers (especially those working on the backend) are constantly faced with questions from non-IT teams or customers about what a given object means. This is because creating and maintaining documentation is not a top priority. However, using documentation tools has many benefits such as:
• Help Data stewards quickly discover database schema,
• Data becomes understandable for non-IT members,
• Documentation as a single source of truth about the data is available to everyone
• Easier implementation for new people working on the repository,
We have selected database documenters that, we believe, are truly noteworthy. We have included both, open-source tools and advanced, professional software (offering trial versions).