Drafts
A draft is a pulled version of a component held aside as a separate file so you can review it before overwriting the workspace copy. Drafts are local to you; they are not checked into source control, and they don't appear in other developers' workspaces.
When to use a draft
- The database has drifted and you want to see what's different before accepting it.
- You want to run the generated SQL against the database before committing to replacing the workspace copy.
- You want a one-off extracted copy for comparison or reference, without touching the workspace file at all.
If none of those apply, extracting straight to the workspace is fine.
Creating a draft
In the component grid:
- Select one or more rows.
- Toolbar Pull to Draft (or right-click → Database Pull to Draft, or Ctrl+D).
The draft file is written and the component's Workspace status column shows a draft indicator.
Opening a draft
In the row's right-click menu, Open Draft File opens the draft in the SQL editor. Open Workspace File opens the workspace copy; the two are separate files.
Comparing a draft
In the row's right-click menu, Compare With… → Compare with Draft opens a diff of the workspace file and the draft.
Other comparisons available from the same submenu, useful when deciding what to do with a draft:
- Compare with Current Connection. Workspace file vs. live database.
- Compare with Database…. Workspace file vs. a specific database.
- Compare with Local (HEAD) (Git) / Compare with Server (Latest) (TFS). Workspace file vs. version control.
Applying or discarding a draft
Apply copies the draft content over the workspace file and removes the draft. Discard removes the draft without touching the workspace file.
Both actions have toolbar buttons, keyboard shortcuts, and right-click entries:
| Action | Toolbar | Shortcut | Right-click |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apply the selected rows | Apply | Ctrl+Shift+A | Apply Selected |
| Apply every draft in this category | – | – | Apply All |
| Discard the selected rows' drafts | Undo | – | Discard Selected |
| Discard every draft in this category | – | – | Discard All |
Apply overwrites the workspace file. If you've edited the workspace copy since the draft was created, those edits are lost. Use Compare With… → Compare with Draft first if you're unsure.
Drafts and the basket
Drafts don't go into the deployment basket; only workspace files do. If you want a draft's content to ship in the next release, Apply it first so it becomes a regular workspace change, then add it to the basket.
What's next
- Pulling from the database: where drafts come from.
- Running scripts: run a draft's SQL against a database.
- The deployment basket: staging applied changes.