Developers save their database diagram when they are ready to update the database to match their diagram. On the other hand if other users have updated the database since developers opened their diagram, users’ changes might affect developers’ diagram and vice versa. When developers save their diagram, the database will be reconciled with their diagram by overwriting other users’ changes and the database will match developers’ diagram. When Developers working with SQL Server “Denali”, MS SQL Server 2008 R2 and MS SQL Server 2005 want to update a database to match their diagram, they should follow the next steps:
1. Save their database diagram.
If they have not previously saved their diagram, type a name for the diagram in the Save New Database Diagram dialog box and choose OK.
2. The Save dialog box lists the tables that will be affected when they save their diagram. Choose Yes to continue.
3. The Database Changes Detected dialog box lists the objects that were modified and will be changed to match their diagram. Choose Yes to save the diagram and accept the list of changes.
If developers’ diagram contains tables and columns that were deleted in the database, only their definitions are recreated in the database when they save their diagram. This process does not restore any data that existed in these objects before their deletion.
When Developers want to update a database to match a modified database, they should follow the next steps:
1. Close their diagram without saving changes.
2. Right-click the diagram in Object Explorer.
3. From the shortcut menu click Refresh.
4. Reopen the diagram.