How reports and snapshots work

Reports and snapshots support the review trail around a compare run. Reports give you readable HTML output for differences and schema structure, while snapshots store a reusable XML copy of schema state.

Database reports

Schema Compare, Data Compare and Schema View can all generate reports so release reviews do not have to stay inside the live database session.

Database snapshots

Snapshots store an XML representation of schema state so teams can compare offline, keep a schema backup or review changes later without reconnecting to the original database.

Use both together

Use reports for human review, snapshots for saved schema state, and bring them back into Schema Compare or Schema View when you need to reconstruct what changed.