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Article Properties - <Article>

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The Article Properties dialog box is available from the New Publication Wizard and the Publication Properties dialog box. It allows you to view and set properties for all types of articles. Some properties can be set only when the publication is created, and others can be set only if the publication has no active subscriptions. Properties that cannot be set are displayed as read-only.

Note

After a publication is created, some property changes require a new snapshot. If a publication has subscriptions, some changes also require all subscriptions to be reinitialized. For more information, see Changing Publication and Article Properties.

Each property in the Article Properties dialog box includes a description. Click a property, and its description is displayed at the bottom of the dialog box. This topic provides additional information on a number of properties. The properties are grouped into the following categories:

  • Properties that apply to all Microsoft SQL Server publications.
  • Properties that apply to transactional publications from SQL Server.
  • Properties that apply to merge publications.
  • Properties that apply to transactional and snapshot publications from Oracle Publishers.

Options for all publications

  • Copy table partitioning schemes and Copy index partitioning schemes
    Microsoft SQL Server 2005 introduces table partitioning and index partitioning, which are unrelated to the partitioning replication offers through row and column filters. The Copy table partitioning schemes and Copy index partitioning schemes options specify whether partitioning schemes should be copied to the Subscriber. For more information about partitioning, see Partitioned Tables and Indexes.
  • Convert data types
    Determines whether to convert from user-defined data types to base data types when creating objects at the Subscriber. User-defined data types include the alias data types available with Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and the user-defined CLR types introduced in SQL Server 2005. Specify a value of True if you will replicate these data types to previous versions of SQL Server; this ensures they can be handled properly at the Subscriber. For more information about data type mapping, see Using Multiple Versions of SQL Server in a Replication Topology.

  • Create schemas at Subscriber
    SQL Server 2005 introduces schemas, which are defined using the CREATE SCHEMA statement. A schema is the owner of an object; it is used in a multi-part name, such as <Database>.<Schema>.<Object>. If you have objects in the database owned by schemas other than DBO, replication can create these schemas at the Subscriber, so that published objects can be created.

    If you will replicate data to versions of SQL Server prior to SQL Server 2005:

    • Set this option to False, because previous versions do not support CREATE SCHEMA.
    • For each schema, add a user to the subscription database with the same name as the schema.
  • Convert XML to NTEXT and Convert MAX data types to NTEXT and IMAGE
    Determines whether to convert the data types as described. Specify a value of True if you will replicate these data types to previous versions of SQL Server 2005; this ensures they can be handled properly at the Subscriber. For more information about data type mapping, see Using Multiple Versions of SQL Server in a Replication Topology.
  • Destination object name
    The name of the object created in the subscription database. This option cannot be changed for articles in publications that are enabled for peer-to-peer transactional replication.

  • Destination object owner
    The schema under which the object is created in the subscription database. The default is the schema to which the object belongs in the publication database, with the following exceptions:

    • For articles in merge publications with a compatibility level lower than 90: by default, the owner is left blank and is specified as dbo during the creation of the object on the Subscriber.
    • For articles in Oracle publications: by default, the owner is specified as dbo.
    • For articles in publications that use character mode snapshots (which are used for non-SQL Server Subscribers and SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition Subscribers): by default, the owner is left blank. The owner defaults to the owner associated with the account used by the Distribution Agent or Merge Agent to connect to the Subscriber.

    This option cannot be changed for articles in publications that are enabled for peer-to-peer transactional replication.

  • Automatically manage identity ranges
    Replication, by default, manages all identity columns at the Publisher and each Subscriber. Each replication node is assigned a range of identity values (specified with the Publisher range size and Subscriber range size options) to ensure that a given value is used at only one node. For more information, see Replicating Identity Columns.

Options for transactional publications

  • Copy INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE stored procedures
    If, in the Statement Delivery section of this dialog box, you select to use stored procedures to propagate changes to Subscribers (the default), select whether to copy the procedures to each Subscriber. If you select False, you must copy the procedures manually, or the Distribution Agent will fail when attempting to deliver changes.

  • Statement delivery
    The options in this section apply to all tables, including indexed views that are replicated as tables. Microsoft recommends that you use the default options unless your application requires different functionality. By default, transactional replication propagates changes to Subscribers through a set of stored procedures that are installed on each Subscriber. When an insert, update, or delete occurs on a table at the Publisher, the operation is translated into a call to a stored procedure at the Subscriber.

    The delivery statement options specify whether to use a stored procedure, and if so, which format should be used for parameters passed to the procedure. The stored procedure options allow you to use the procedures that replication automatically creates or substitute custom procedures you have created.

    For more information, see Specifying How Changes Are Propagated for Transactional Articles.

  • Replicate
    This option applies to store procedures only. It determines whether to replicate the definition of the stored procedure (the CREATE PROCEDURE statement) or its execution. If you replicate the execution of the procedure, the procedure definition is replicated to the Subscriber when the subscription is initialized; when the procedure is executed at the Publisher, replication executes the corresponding procedure at the Subscriber. This can provide significantly better performance for cases where large batch operations are performed. For more information, see Publishing Stored Procedure Execution in Transactional Replication.

Options for merge publications

The Article Properties dialog box for merge publications has two tabs: Properties and Resolver.

Properties tab

  • Synchronization direction
    Determines whether changes can be uploaded from Subscribers that use the client subscription type:

    • Bidirectional (the default): changes can be downloaded to the Subscriber and uploaded to the Publisher.
    • Download-only to Subscriber, prohibit Subscriber changes: changes can be downloaded to the Subscriber, but they cannot be uploaded to the Publisher. Triggers prevent changes from being made at the Subscriber.
    • Download-only to Subscriber, allow Subscriber changes: changes can be downloaded to the Subscriber, but they cannot be uploaded to the Publisher.

    For more information, see Optimizing Merge Replication Performance with Download-Only Articles.

  • Partition options
    Specifies the type of partitions that a parameterized filter creates. For more information, see the "Setting 'partition options'" section of Parameterized Row Filters.

  • Verify INSERT permission, Verify UPDATE permission, and Verify DELETE permission
    Determines whether to check during synchronization that the Subscriber login has INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE permissions on the published tables in the publication database. The default is False because merge replication does not require these permissions to be granted; access to the published tables is controlled through the Publication Access List (PAL). For more information about the PAL, see Securing the Publisher.

    You can require permissions to be checked if you want to allow one or more Subscribers to upload some changes to published data, but not others. For example, you could add a Subscriber to the PAL, but not give the Subscriber any permissions on the tables in the publication database. You could then set Verify DELETE permissions to True: the Subscriber would be able to upload inserts and updates, but not deletes.

  • Multicolumn UPDATE
    When merge replication performs an update, it updates all changed columns in one UPDATE statement and resets unchanged columns to their original values. The alternative in these cases is to issue multiple UPDATE statements, with one UPDATE statement for each column that has changed. The multicolumn UPDATE statement is typically more efficient, but you should consider setting the option to False if triggers on the table are set to respond to updates of certain columns, and they respond inappropriately because those columns are reset when updates occur.

    Important

    This option is deprecated and will be removed in a future release.

Resolver tab

  • Use the default resolver
    If you select the default resolver, conflicts are resolved based on the priority assigned to each Subscriber or the first change written to the Publisher, depending on the type of subscriptions used. For more information, see Detecting and Resolving Merge Replication Conflicts.

  • Use a custom resolver (registered at the Distributor)
    If you choose to use an article resolver (either one supplied by Microsoft or one you have written), you must select a resolver from the list-box. For more information, see Advanced Merge Replication Conflict Detection and Resolution.

    If the resolver requires any input, specify it in Enter information needed by the resolver text box. For more information about input required by Microsoft custom resolvers, see Microsoft COM-Based Resolvers.

  • Allow Subscriber to resolve conflicts interactively during on-demand synchronization
    Select this option if Subscribers will use on-demand synchronization (the default for merge replication) and you want to resolve conflicts interactively. Specify on-demand synchronization on the Synchronization Schedule page of the New Subscription Wizard. To resolve conflicts interactively, use the Interactive Resolver user interface. For more information, see Interactive Conflict Resolution.
  • Require verification of a digital signature before merging
    All COM-based resolvers supplied by Microsoft are signed. Select this option to verify that the resolver is valid when synchronizing.

Options for Oracle publications

The Article Properties dialog box for Oracle publications has two tabs: Properties and Data Mapping. Oracle publications do not support all of the properties that SQL Server publications support. For more information, see Design Considerations and Limitations for Oracle Publishers.

Properties tab

  • Copy INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE stored procedures
    If the article is in a transactional publication and, in the Statement Delivery section of this dialog box, you select to use stored procedures to propagate changes to Subscribers (the default), select whether to copy the procedures to each Subscriber. If you select False, you must copy the procedures manually, or the Distribution Agent will fail when attempting to deliver changes.

  • Destination object owner
    If you enter a value other than dbo:

    • For Subscribers running SQL Server 2005 or later, you must ensure that a schema is created at the Subscriber with the same name as the value you enter. For more information, see CREATE SCHEMA (Transact-SQL).
    • For Subscribers running versions prior to SQL Server 2005, for each schema, add a user to the subscription database with the same name as the schema.
  • Tablespace name
    The tablespace in which to create the replication change tracking tables on the Oracle server instance. For more information, see Managing Oracle Tablespaces.

  • Statement delivery
    The options in this section apply to all tables in transactional publications. Microsoft recommends that you use the default options unless your application requires different functionality. By default, transactional replication propagates changes to Subscribers through a set of stored procedures that are installed on each Subscriber. When an insert, update, or delete occurs on a table at the Publisher, the operation is translated into a call to a stored procedure at the Subscriber.

    The delivery statement options specify whether to use a stored procedure, and if so, which format should be used for parameters passed to the procedure. The stored procedure options allow you to use the procedures that replication automatically creates or substitute custom procedures you have created.

    For more information, see Specifying How Changes Are Propagated for Transactional Articles.

Data Mapping tab

  • Column name
    The name of the column at the Publisher (read-only).
  • Publisher data type
    The Oracle data type for the column at the Publisher (read-only). The data type can only be changed directly in the Oracle database. For more information, see the Oracle documentation.

  • Subscriber data type
    The SQL Server data type to which the Oracle data type is mapped when data is replicated:

    • For some data types there is only one possible mapping, in which case the column in the property grid is read-only.
    • For some types, there is more than one type that you can select. Microsoft recommends that you use the default mapping unless your application requires a different mapping. For more information, see Data Type Mapping for Oracle Publishers.

See Also

Other Resources

How to: Create a Publication and Define Articles (SQL Server Management Studio)
How to: View and Modify Publication and Article Properties (SQL Server Management Studio)
How to: Create and Apply the Initial Snapshot (SQL Server Management Studio)
How to: Reinitialize a Subscription (SQL Server Management Studio)
Publishing Data and Database Objects
Replication Properties
Replication Wizards

Help and Information

Getting SQL Server 2005 Assistance