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You can customize many aspects of the SQL Developer interface and environment by modifying SQL Developer preferences according to your preferences and needs. To modify SQL Developer preferences, select Tools, then Preferences.
Information about SQL Developer preferences is stored under the directory for user-specific information. For information about the location of this information, see Location of User-Related Information.
Most preferences are self-explanatory, and this topic explains only those whose meaning and implications are not obvious. Some preferences involve performance or system resource trade-offs (for example, enabling a feature that adds execution time), and other preferences involve only personal aesthetic taste. The preferences are grouped in the following categories.
Search box: You can enter a string to limit the tree display to matching relevant preference groups.
The Environment pane contains options that affect the startup and overall behavior and appearance of SQL Developer. You can specify that certain operations be performed automatically at specified times, with the trade-off usually being the extra time for the operation as opposed to the possibility of problems if the operation is not performed automatically (for example, if you forget to perform it when you should).
The undo level (number of previous operations that can be undone) and navigation level (number of open files) values involve slight increases or decreases system resource usage for higher or lower values.
Automatically Reload Externally Modified Files: If this option is checked, any files open in SQL Developer that have been modified by an external application are updated when you switch back to SQL Developer, overwriting any changes that you might have made. If this option is not checked, changes that you make in SQL Developer overwrite any changes that might have been made by external applications.
Silently Reload When File Is Unmodified: If this option is checked, you are not asked if you want to reload files that have been modified externally but not in SQL Developer. If this option is not checked, you are asked if you want to reload each file that has been modified externally, regardless of whether it has been modified in SQL Developer.
Undo Level: The number of undo operations that SQL Developer will remember.
Navigation Level: The the number of times you can go back and forth on browsing history by using the Back and Forward navigation buttons.
Look and Feel: A JGoodies look and feel. The new look and feel will be reflected after you restart SQL Developer.
Line Terminator: Style for line termination. This line termination style will be applied to all new files.
Encoding: Character set to be used for encoding. All new files will be created with the new encoding, and the new encoding will be used to open and save files that do not have encoding tags.
Reset Skipped Messages: Causes all message types to be displayed in the future, including those that you have previously opted not to see.
Environment: Local History
The Local History pane controls whether information about editing operations on files opened within SQL Developer is kept. If local history is enabled, you can specify how long information is retained and the maximum number of revisions for each file.
Environment: Log
The Log pane configures the colors of certain types of log messages and the saving of log messages to log files.
Save Logs to File: If this option is checked, all output to the Messages - Log window is saved to log files, where the file name reflects the operation and a timestamp. You are also asked to specify a Log Directory; and if the specified directory does not already exist, it is created if and when it is needed. Note that if you save log information to files, the number of these files can become large.
Maximum Log Lines: The maximum number of lines to store in each log file.
Related Topics
The Change Management Parameters pane contains options that affect Change Manager Support in SQL Developer, especially how objects are compared to determine if a change has occurred and how extensive the DDL statements are when the script for deploying changes is generated.
Ignore physical attributes: Causes differences in physical attributes to be ignored when objects are compared.
Ignore tablespace: Causes differences in the tablespace specified for the object to be ignored when objects are compared.
Ignore segment attributes: Causes differences in segment specification to be ignored when objects are compared.
Ignore storage: Causes differences in storage specification to be ignored when objects are compared.
Ignore table column positions: Causes differences in the positions of table columns to be ignored when objects are compared. For example, if this option is enabled (checked), two tables would not be considered different in the only difference is that Column1 and Column2 appear first and second in one table but second and first in the other table.
Match Constraints: Controls whether constraints are matched for comparison by the names or definitions or the constraints (Match constraints by name or Match constraints by definition).
Report constraint name difference: If Match constraints by definition is selected, causes the constraint name to be displayed when differences are reported.
Generate constraint indexes: Causes constraint indexes to be generated in the DDL for the deployment script.
Generate constraints: Causes constraints to be generated in the DDL for the deployment script.
Generate password values: Causes password values to be generated in the DDL for the deployment script.
Generate referential constraints: Causes referential constraints to be generated in the DDL for the deployment script.
Generate SQL terminator: Causes the SQL statement terminator character to be generated at the end of each statement in the DDL for the deployment script.
Change Management Parameters: Conflict Resolution
The Conflict Resolution pane contains options for resolving conflicts when the old or existing item's value is different from the potential new or modified value or when the existing item would be removed.
Item to be added already exists, or the item to be removed is different. Apply Exists Different: FALSE causes the item to be added or the existing item to be removed; TRUE causes the item not to be added or the existing item not to be removed.
Item to be modified has already been modified to a different value. Apply Exists Different: FALSE causes the item to be modified so as to replace the existing (different) value; TRUE causes the item to keep the existing (different) value.
Item to be modified has already been modified to the old value recorded in the difference. Apply Exists Different: FALSE causes the item to be changed to the new value; TRUE causes the item to keep the existing value (the old value recorded in the difference).
Related Topics
The Code Editor pane contains general options that affect the appearance and behavior of SQL Developer when you edit functions, procedures, and packages.
Autopin PL/SQL Editors: Keeps the current PL/SQL editor open when you open another function, procedure, or package.
Max Open PL/SQL Editors: Specifies the maximum number of PL/SQL editors that can be kept open ("pinned").
Start in Read Only Mode: Causes functions, procedures, and packages to be displayed initially in read-only mode. (To switch to read/write mode, click the Switch to Write Mode icon in the code editing window.)
Link Stored Procedures to Files: If this option is enabled (checked), then every time you compile a file-based PL/SQL module, SQL Developer associates the database source with the file-based one. Subsequently, during a debugging session, whenever a reference to a PL/SQL module is made, SQL Developer checks its internal database and file-based source associations; and if it is able to find a file-based source with the specified name, it opens it. This setting is of interest to users who keep their PL/SQL code in a source control system.
If this option is disabled, then during a debugging session SQL Developer always opens the procedure residing in the database, and does not check the file system.
Auto-Indent New Lines: Automatically indents a new line when you press Enter at the end of a line. The new line will automatically be indented at the same initial indentation as the line preceding it.
Perform Block Indent or Outdent for Selections: Performs a block indent or block outdent on a selection when your press Tab or Shift+Tab, respectively. With this option selected, when you press Tab on a selected block of text, the entire block will be indented to the current tab size. Shift+Tab on the same block would outdent it, as a block, to the current tab size.
Use Smart Home: Contextualizes the cursor's understanding of home (the beginning of the line). With this setting selected, pressing Home positions the cursor at the start of the line after any leading spaces or tabs. Pressing Home again repositions the cursor at the start of the line before any leading spaces or tabs. Continuing to press Home toggles the cursor between these two locations.
With this setting deselected, pressing Home simply places the cursor at the start of the line.
Use Smart End: Contextualizes the cursor's understanding of end of line. The behavior is analogous to that for Smart Home, except that the cursor responds to the End key, and its behavior regarding the end of the line and any trailing spaces is altered.
Use Jump Scrolling for Keyboard Navigation: Implement jump scrolling, which involves behavior of the keyboard arrow keys. With this setting selected, when you navigate off-screen using the keyboard arrow keys, the editor view will "jump" to recenter the cursor location in the middle of the editor view.
With this setting deselected, the editor view will scroll the editor view the minimum amount to bring the cursor back into view.
Use Change of Case As Word Boundary: Has change of case regarded as the boundary of a word, for example, when you double-click to select a word.
Enable Cut or Copy of Current Line with No Selection: Applies all cut and copy operations to the current line whenever there is no text selection in the editor.
Automatically Copy Paste Imports: Automatically add imports when references are introduced to objects that have not yet been imported.
Adjust Indentation When Pasting: Corrects the indentation of a pasted in item that includes indentation.
Reformat Code Block When Pasting: Reformats the code correctly when you paste it into a new location.
Escape When Pasting in String Literals: Includes the correct escape characters in pasted-in string literals.
Code Editor: Bookmarks
The Bookmarks pane contains options that determine the persistence and search behavior for bookmarks that you create when using the code editor.
Code Editor: Caret Behavior
The Caret Behavior pane contains options that determine the shape, color, and blinking characteristics of the caret (cursor) in the code editor.
Code Editor: Completion Insight
The Completion Insight pane contains options for the logical completion (autocomplete options) of keywords and names while you are coding in the SQL Worksheet.
When you pause for the auto-popup time (if the auto-popup is enabled) or when you press Ctrl+Space, code insight provides a context-sensitive popup window that can help you select parameter names. Completion insight provides you with a list of possible completions at the insertion point that you can use to auto-complete code you are editing. This list is based on the code context at the insertion point. To exit code insight at any time, press Esc or continue typing.
You can enable or disable automatic completion and parameter insight, as well as set the time delay for the popup windows.
Generate Column/Table Aliases Automatically: Automatically generates table aliases if you select multiple tables from the popup window; and if you then edit the column list, each column name in the popup window is prefixed with a table alias.
Autogenerate GROUP BY Clause: Automatically generates a GROUP BY clause if you manually enter (not copy/paste) a SELECT statement containing a COUNT function, and then edit the SELECT query.
Code Editor: Display
The Display pane contains general options for the appearance and behavior of the code editor.
Enable Text Anti-Aliasing allows smooth-edged characters where possible.
Show Whitespace Characters renders spaces, new lines, carriage returns, non-breaking spaces, and tab characters as alternate visible characters.
Show Breadcrumbs shows the breadcrumb bar, which shows the hierarchy of nodes from the current caret position up to the top of the file. Hover the mouse cursor over a node to display information about the node.
Show Scroll Tip enables the Tip window that displays the methods in view while scrolling.
Show Code Folding Margin allows program blocks in procedures and functions to be expanded and collapsed in the display.
Show visible Right Margin renders a right margin that you can set to control the length of lines of code.
Enable Automatic Brace Matching controls the highlighting of opening parentheses and brackets and of blocks when a closing parenthesis or bracket is typed.
Code Editor: Fonts
The Fonts pane specifies text font options for the code editor.
Display Only Fixed-Width Fonts: If this option is checked, the display of available font names is restricted to fonts where all characters have the same width. (Fixed-width fonts are contrasted with proportional-width fonts.)
Code Editor: Line Gutter
The Line Gutter pane specifies options for the line gutter (left margin of the code editor).
Show Line Numbers: If this option is checked, lines are numbered. (To go to a line number while you are using the SQL Worksheet, press Ctrl+G.)
Enable Line Selection by Click-Dragging: If this option is checked, you can select consecutive lines in the editor by clicking in the gutter and dragging the cursor without releasing the mouse button.
Code Editor: PL/SQL Syntax Colors
The PL/SQL Syntax Colors pane specifies colors for different kinds of syntax elements.
Code Editor: Printing
The Printing pane specifies options for printing the contents of the code editor. The Preview pane sample display changes as you select and deselect options.
Code Editor: Printing HTML
The Printing HTML pane specifies options for printing HTML files from the code editor.
Code Editor: Undo Behavior
The Undo Behavior pane specifies options for the behavior of undo operations (Ctrl+Z, or Edit, then Undo). Only consecutive edits of the same type are considered; for example, inserting characters and deleting characters are two different types of operation.
Allow Navigation-Only Changes to be Undoable: If this option is checked, navigation actions with the keyboard or mouse can be undone. If this option is not checked, navigation actions cannot be undone, and only actual changes to the text can be undone.
Related Topics
The Compare and Merge panes define options for comparing and merging two source files.
Compare Preferences
Ignore Whitespace: If this option is enabled, leading and trailing tabs and letter spacing are ignored when comparing files. Carriage returns are not ignored. Enabling this option makes comparing two files easier when you have replaced all the space with hard tabs, or vice versa. Otherwise, every line in the two documents might be shown as different in the Compare window.
Show Character Differences: If this option is enabled, characters that are present in one file and not in another are highlighted. Red highlighting indicates a character that has been removed. Green highlighting indicates a character that has been added. The highlighting is shown only when you click into a comparison block that contains character differences.
Maximum File Size (KB): the maximum file size (number of kilobytes) for which the operation will be performed. You can specify different sizes for text files and XML files.
Enable Java Compare: If this option is enabled, Java source files can be compared in a structured format.
Enable XML Compare: If this option is enabled, XML files can be compared.
Merge Preferences
Enable XML Merge: If this option is enabled, XML files can be merged.
Reformat Result: If this option is enabled, merged XML files can be reformatted.
Validate Result (May require Internet access): If this option is enabled, merged XML files will be validated.
Maximum File Size (KB): the maximum XML file size (number of kilobytes) for which the operation will be performed.
Comparing Source Files
You can compare source files in the following ways:
A file currently being edited with its saved version: Place the focus on the current version open in the editor; from the main menu, select File, then Compare With, then File on Disk.
One file with another file: Place the focus on the file in the editor to be compared; from the main menu, select File, then Compare With, then Other File. In the Select File to Compare With dialog, navigate to the file and click Open.
Related Topics
The Database pane sets properties for the database connection.
Validate date and time default values: If this option is checked, date and time validation is used when you open tables.
Default path to store export in: Default path of the directory or folder under which to store output files when you perform an export operation. To see the current default for your system, click the Browse button next to this field.
Filename for connection startup script: File name for the startup script to run when an Oracle database connection is opened. You can click Browse to specify the location. The default location is the default path for scripts (see the Database: Worksheet preferences pane).
Database: Advanced
The Advanced pane specifies options such as the SQL Array Fetch Size and Display options for null values and for STRUCT object values.
You can also specify Kerberos thin driver configuration parameters, which enables you to create database connections using Kerberos authentication and specifying the user name and password. For more information, see the Kerberos Authentication explanation on the Oracle tab in the Create/Edit/Select Database Connection dialog box. For information about configuring Kerberos authentication, see Oracle Database Advanced Security Guide.
Use OCI/Thick driver: If this option is checked, and if an OCI (thick, Type 2) driver is available, that driver will be used instead of a JDBC (thin) driver for basic and TNS (network alias) database connections. If any connections use a supported Remote Authentication Dial In User Service (RADIUS) server, check this option.
Autocommit: If this option is checked, a commit operation is automatically performed after each INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE statement executed using the SQL Worksheet. If this option is not checked, a commit operation is not performed until you execute a COMMIT statement.
Kerberos Thin Config: Config File: Kerberos configuration file (for example, krb5.conf). If this is not specified, default locations will be tried for your Java and system configuration.
Kerberos Thin Config: Credential Cache File: Kerberos credential cache file (for example, krb5_cc_cache). If this is not specified, a cache will not be used, and a principal name and password will be required each time.
Tnsnames Directory: Enter or browse to select the location of the tnsnames.ora file. If no location is specified, SQL Developer looks for this file as explained in Database Connections. Thus, any value you specify here overrides any TNS_ADMIN environment variable or registry value or (on Linux systems) the global configuration directory.
Database: Autotrace/Explain Plan
The Autotrace/Explain Plan pane specifies information to be displayed on the Autotrace and Explain Plan panes in the SQL Worksheet.
The Drag and Drop Effects pane determines the type of SQL statement created in the SQL Worksheet when you drag an object from the Connections navigator into the SQL Worksheet. The SQL Developer preference sets the default, which you can override in the Drag and Drop Effects dialog box.
The type of statement (INSERT, DELETE, UPDATE, or SELECT) applies only for object types for which such a statement is possible. For example, SELECT makes sense for a table, but not for a trigger. For objects for which the statement type does not apply, the object name is inserted in the SQL Worksheet.
Database: Licensing
Some SQL Developer features require that licenses for specific Oracle Database options be in effect for the database connection that will use the feature. The Licensing pane enables you to specify, for each defined connection, whether the database has the Oracle Change Management Pack, the Oracle Tuning Pack, and the Oracle Diagnostics Pack.
For each cell in this display (combination of license and connection), the value can be true (checked box), false (cleared box), or unspecified (solid-filled box).
If an option is specified as true for a connection in this pane, you will not be prompted with a message about the option being required when you use that connection for a feature that requires the option.
Database: NLS
The NLS pane specifies values for globalization support parameters, such as the language, territory, sort preference, and date format. These parameter values are used for SQL Developer session operations, such as for statements executed using the SQL Worksheet and for the National Language Support Parameters report. Specifying values in this preferences pane does not apply those values to the underlying database itself. To change the database settings, you must change the appropriate initialization parameters and restart the database.
Note that SQL Developer does not use default values from the current system for globalization support parameters; instead, SQL Developer, when initially installed, by default uses parameter values that include the following:
NLS_LANG,"AMERICAN" NLS_TERR,"AMERICA" NLS_CHAR,"AL32UTF8" NLS_SORT,"BINARY" NLS_CAL,"GREGORIAN" NLS_DATE_LANG,"AMERICAN" NLS_DATE_FORM,"DD-MON-RR"
Database: ObjectViewer Parameters
The ObjectViewer Parameters pane specifies whether to freeze object viewer windows, and display options for the output. The display options will affect the generated DDL on the SQL tab. The Data Editor Options affect the behavior when you are using the Data tab to edit table data.
Data Editor Options
Post Edits on Row Change: If this option is checked, posts DML changes when you perform edits using the Data tab (and the Set Auto Commit On option determines whether or not the changes are automatically committed). If this option is not checked, changes are posted and committed when you press the Commit toolbar button.
Set Auto Commit On (available only if Post Edit on Row Changes is enabled): If this option is checked, DML changes are automatically posted and committed when you perform edits using the Data tab.
Clear persisted table column widths, order, sort, and filter settings: If you click Clear, then any customizations in the Data tab display for table column widths, order, sort, and filtering are not saved for subsequent openings of the tab, but instead the default settings are used for subsequent openings.
Use ORA_ROWSCN for DataEditor insert and update statements: If this option is checked, SQL Developer internally uses the ORA_ROWSCN pseudocolumn in performing insert and update operations when you use the Data tab. If you experience any errors trying to update data, try unchecking (disabling) this option.
Database: PL/SQL Compiler
The PL/SQL Compiler pane specifies options for compilation of PL/SQL subprograms.
Generate PL/SQL Debug Information: If this option is checked, PL/SQL debug information is included in the compiled code; if this option is not checked, this debug information is not included. The ability to stop on individual code lines and debugger access to variables are allowed only in code compiled with debug information generated.
Types of messages: You can control the display of informational, severe, and performance-related messages. (The ALL type overrides any individual specifications for the other types of messages.) For each type of message, you can specify any of the following:
No entry (blank): Use any value specified for ALL; and if none is specified, use the Oracle default.
Enable: Enable the display of all messages of this category.
Disable: Disable the display of all messages of this category.
Error: Enable the display of only error messages of this category.
Optimization Level: 0, 1, or 2, reflecting the optimization level that will be used to compile PL/SQL library units. The higher the setting of this parameter, the more effort the compiler makes to optimize PL/SQL library units. However, for a module to be compiled with PL/SQL debugging information, the level must be 0 or 1.
PLScope Identifiers: Specifies the amount of PL/Scope identifier data to collect and use (All or None).
Database: Reports
The Reports pane specifies options relating to SQL Developer Reports.
Close all reports on disconnect: If this option is checked, all reports for any database connection are automatically closed when that connection is disconnected.
Database: SQL Editor Code Templates
The SQL Editor Code Templates pane enables you to view, add, and remove templates for editing SQL and PL/SQL code. Code templates assist you in writing code more quickly and efficiently by inserting text for commonly used statements. You can then modify the inserted text.
The template ID string is not used by SQL Developer; only the template content (Description text) is used, in that it is considered by completion insight (explained in Code Editor: Completion Insight) in determining whether a completion popup should be displayed and what the popup should contain. For example, if you define code template ID mydate as SELECT sysdate FROM dual, then if you start typing select
in the SQL Worksheet, the auto-popup includes SELECT sysdate FROM dual.
Add Template: Adds an empty row in the code template display. Enter an ID value, then move to the Template cell; you can enter template content in that cell, or click the pencil icon to open an editing box to enter the template content.
Remove Template: Deletes the selected code template.
Database: SQL Formatter
The SQL Formatter pane controls how statements in the SQL Worksheet are formatted when you click Format SQL. The options include whether to insert space characters or tab characters when you press the Tab key (and how many characters), uppercase or lowercase for keywords and identifiers, whether to preserve or eliminate empty lines, and whether comparable items should be placed or the same line (if there is room) or on separate lines.
Import: Lets you import code style profile settings that you previously exported.
Export: Exports the current code profile settings to an XML file.
Autoformat PL/SQL in Procedures, Packages, Views, and Triggers: If this option is checked, the SQL Formatter options are applied automatically as you enter and modify PL/SQL code in procedures, packages, views, and triggers; if this option is not checked, the SQL Formatter options are applied only when you so request.
Panes for product-specific formatting options: Individual panes let you specify formatting options for Oracle and for other vendors (Microsoft Access, IBM DB2, Microsoft SQL Server, Sybase Adaptive Server). In each of these panes, you can click Edit to specify input/output, alignment, indentation, line breaks, CASE line breaks, white space, and other options.
See also the Format Properties (Advanced Formatting) dialog box information.
Database: Third Party JDBC Drivers
The Third Party JDBC Drivers pane specifies drivers to be used for connections to third-party (non-Oracle) databases, such as IBM DB2, MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, or Sybase Adaptive Server. (You do not need to add a driver for connections to Microsoft Access databases.) To add a driver, click Add Entry and select the path for the driver:
For IBM DB2: the db2jcc.jar
and db2jcc_license_cu.jar
files, which are available from IBM
For MySQL: a file with a name similar to mysql-connector-java-5.0.4-bin.jar
, in a directory under the one into which you unzipped the download for the MySQL driver
For Microsoft SQL Server or Sybase Adaptive Server: jtds-1.2.jar
, which is included in the jtds-1.2-dist.zip
download
For Teradata: tdgssconfig.jar
and terajdbc4.jar
, which are included (along with a readme.txt
file) in the TeraJDBC__indep_indep.12.00.00.110.zip
or TeraJDBC__indep_indep.12.00.00.110.tar
download
Alternative: As an alternative to using this preference, you can click Help, then Check for Updates to install the JTDS JDBC Driver for Microsoft SQL Server and the MySQL JDBE Driver as extensions. |
To find a specific third-party JDBC driver, see the appropriate website (for example, http://www.mysql.com
for the MySQL Connector/J JDBC driver for MySQL, http://jtds.sourceforge.net/
for the jTDS driver for Microsoft SQL Server and Sybase Adaptive Server, or search at http://www.teradata.com/
for the JDBC driver for Teradata). For MySQL, use the MySQL 5.0 driver, not 5.1 or later, with SQL Developer release 1.5.
You must specify a third-party JDBC driver or install a driver using the Check for Updates feature before you can create a database connection to a third-party database of that associated type. (See the tabs for creating connections to third-party databases in the Create/Edit/Select Database Connection dialog box.)
Database: User Defined Extensions
The User Defined Extensions pane specifies user-defined extensions that have been added. You can use this pane to add extensions that are not available through the Check for Updates feature. These extensions can be for user-defined reports, actions, editors, and navigators. (For more information about extensions and checking for updates, see Extensions.)
One use of the Database: User-Defined Extensions pane is to create a Shared Reports folder and to include an exported report under that folder: click Add Row, specify Type as REPORT, and for Location specify the XML file containing the exported report. The next time you restart SQL Developer, the Reports navigator will have a Shared Reports folder containing that report.
For more information about creating user-defined extensions, see:
How To create an XML User Defined Extension: https://wikis.oracle.com/display/oraclesqldeveloper/How+To+Create+an+XML+User+Defined+Extension
Creating User Defined Extensions in Oracle SQL Developer: http://www.oracle.com/webfolder/technetwork/tutorials/obe/db/11g/r2/prod/appdev/sqldev/srccodexmlext/xmlext_otn.htm
Database: Utilities
The Utilities pane specifies options that affect the behavior of Database utilities, including Export (Database: Utilities: Export) and Import (Database: Utilities: Import), when they are invoked using SQL Developer.
Database: Utilities: Cart
The Cart pane specifies the default locations for saving and opening Cart .xml files (Default Cart Directory) and for specifying .sql script files (Open Script Directory) to be executed before and after the generated master deployment script (see Using the Cart).
Database: Utilities: Cart: Cart Deploy
The Cart: Deploy pane specifies options that affect the behavior of the Cart for a deployment (see Using the Cart).
For example, if you do not want object names prefixed with the owner schema name in DDL creation statements (for example, if a generated script should create a BOOKS table and not a SMITH.BOOKS table), deselect (uncheck) the Show Schema option.
Default Cart Directory: Default location for the .zip file that contains the generated script files (including the master script file) for a deployment.
Database: Utilities: Difference
The Difference pane specifies options that affect the behavior of the Database Differences Wizard (see Database Differences).
Database: Utilities: Export
The Export pane determines the default values used for the Database Export (Unload Database Objects and Data) wizard and for some other.interfaces.
See also the panes for Database: Utilities: Export: Formats (CSV, Delimited, Excel, Fixed, HTML, PDF, SQL*Loader, Text, XML)
Export/View DDL Options: If this option is checked, the data definition language (DDL) statements for the database objects to be exported are included in the output file, and the other options in this group affect the content and format of the DDL statements.
Pretty Print: If this option is checked, the statements are attractively formatted in the output file, and the size of the file will be larger than it would otherwise be.
Terminator: If this option is checked, a line terminator character is inserted at the end of each line.
Show Schema: If this option is checked, the schema name is included in CREATE statements. If this option is not checked, the schema name is not included in CREATE and INSERT statements, which is convenient if you want to re-create the exported objects and data under a schema that has a different name.
Include Dependents: If this option is checked, objects that are dependent on the objects specified for export are also exported. For nonprivileged users, only dependent objects in their schema are exported; for privileged users, all dependent objects are exported.
Include BYTE Keyword: If this option is checked, column length specifications refer to bytes; if this option is not checked, column length specifications refer to characters.
Add Force to Views: If this option is checked, the FORCE keyword is added to any CREATE VIEW statements (resulting in CREATE OR REPLACE FORCE VIEW
...) in the generated DDL during a database export operation. When the script is run later, the FORCE keyword causes the view to be created regardless of whether the base tables of the view or the referenced object types exist or the owner of the schema containing the view has privileges on them.
Include Grants: If this option is checked, GRANT statements are included for any grant objects on the exported objects. (However, grants on objects owned by the SYS schema are never exported.)
Include Drop Statement: If this option is checked, a DROP statement is included before each CREATE statement, to delete any existing objects with the same names. However, you may want to uncheck this option, and create a separate drop script that can be run to remove an older version of your objects before creation. This avoids the chance of accidentally removing an object you did not intend to drop.
Cascade Drops: If this option is checked, the DROP statements include the CASCADE keyword to cause dependent objects to be deleted also.
Storage: If this option is checked, any STORAGE clauses in definitions of the database objects are preserved in the exported DDL statements. If you do not want to use the current storage definitions (for example, if you will re-create the objects in a different system environment), uncheck this option.
Export Data: If this option is checked, the output file or files contain appropriate statements or data for inserting the data for an exported table or view; the specific output format is determined by the Export Data: Format setting. If this option is not checked, the data for an exported table or view is not exported; that is, only the DDL statements are included. If you check Export Data, all data in all tables in the selected schema is exported, unless you use the Filter Data tab to limit the data to be migrated.
Export Data: Format: Specifies the format to be used for exporting data for a table or view. For example, insert
causes SQL INSERT statements to be included to insert the data, loader
causes SQL*Loader files to be created, and xls
causes a Microsoft Excel .xls file to be created.
Save As: Specifies how the output of an export operation is to be generated. You can also click Browse to find and select the location for the output:
Single File: A single file contains both DDL and data.
Separate Files: Each object is saved to a separate file in the specified directory.
Type Files: Objects of the same type are saved to a single file in the specified directory.
Separate Directories: A directory for each object type being exported is created. Files are created in the appropriate directory.
Worksheet: Statements are sent to a SQL Worksheet window.
Clipboard: Statements are copied to the clipboard.
Encoding: Character set to be used for encoding of the output file or files.
Open SQL File When Exported: If this option is checked, the output file is opened automatically when the export operation is complete.
Generate Controlling Script for Multiple SQL Files: If this option is checked, then if statements are generated in multiple .sql script files, a controlling (or master) .sql script file is also generated to run all the individual script files.
Database: Utilities: Export: Formats (CSV, Delimited, Excel, Fixed, HTML, PDF, SQL*Loader, Text, XML)
A separate pane is provided for specifying default attributes for each supported format for exported data. The displayed and editable attributes depend on the specific format.
Right Enclosure in Data is Doubled (CSV, Delimited, and Text formats) If this option if checked, then for CSV, delimited, and text format, if the right enclosure occurs in the data, it is doubled in the exported data file.
The PDF Format options include panes for options specific to cell, column, and table layout, headers and footers, and security. Note that if a table has multiple columns and the columns do not fit horizontally on a PDF page, then the Table Layout Horizontal Alignment option does not apply, but instead the table is split vertically spanning multiple pages and the information on each page is left-aligned.
PDF Format: Column Layout: Binary Large Object Column specifies whether to include BLOBs in the PDF document, to exclude BLOBs from the PDF document (and have the BLOB column be blank), or to create the BLOBs as separate files (in a filename_blob subdirectory) and create relative links in the PDF file to the BLOB files. (In this case, if you copy the PDF file, you must also remember to copy the filename_blob subdirectory and its files.) For the relative links option, you have the option to create instead only a .zip file that contains the PDF file and BLOB files.
If a pane includes Header, this option controls whether the first row is a header row or the first row of data.
Database: Utilities: Import
The Import pane determines the default values used for the Data Import Wizard (Load Data) wizard.
See also the panes for Database: Utilities: Import: File Formats (CSV, Delimited, Text) and Database: Utilities: Import: Import Methods (External Table, Insert, SQL Loader).
Default Import Directory: The default folder or directory for files containing data to be imported. You can click Browse to find and select the folder or directory.
File Encoding: Default character set used for encoding of the data to be imported.
Preview Limit: If this option is checked, it specifies the maximum number of rows of data to be displayed in the preview pane before you proceed with the import operation. The lower the value, the faster the preview pane is populated. When the wizard creates a new table, the preview data is used to calculate the size of the columns; therefore, ensure that the preview is a good sample of the data.
Preview File Read Maximum: Specifies the maximum number of bytes of data to be displayed in the preview pane (if the specified preview row limit has not already been reached) before you proceed with the import operation. (You should set some maximum to ensure that very large files are not inadvertently read into memory.)
Database: Utilities: Import: File Formats (CSV, Delimited, Text)
A separate pane is provided for specifying default attributes for each supported format for imported data. The displayed and editable attributes depend on the specific format.
If a pane includes Header, this option controls whether the first row is a header row or the first row of data.
Delimiter: Identifies the character used to separate the data into columns. The delimiter character is not included in the data loaded. If the preview page does not show the data separated into columns, the correct delimiter is probably not specified. Examine the data in the preview area to determine the correct delimiter.
Line Terminator: Identifies the terminator for each line. The line terminator is not included in the data loaded. If the preview page shows the data in one single row, the correct terminator is not specified.
Left Enclosure and Right Enclosure: Enclosures are used for character data and are optional. Enclosures are not included in the data loaded.
Right Enclosure in Data is Doubled: If this option if checked, then for CSV, delimited, and text format, any right enclosure that is doubled in the data is loaded (imported) as a single right enclosure; also, the data preview will show such data as it will be loaded (that is, double right enclosures will be displayed as single right enclosures in the preview if this option is checked).
Database: Utilities: Import: Import Methods (External Table, Insert, SQL Loader)
The Import Methods pane lets you specify the default mode for importing data in the following situations:
Existing Table Import Method: For importing data into an existing table, specifies the default method to be used for loading data.
New Table Import Method: For creating a new table to hold the data to be imported, specifies the default method to be used for loading data.
A separate pane is provided for specifying default attributes for each supported method or tool to be used for exporting the data. The displayed and editable attributes depend on the specific method.
External Table Method preferences apply to both the External Table method and the Staging External Table method.
Identify Oracle directories for default, log, bad, and discard directories to be used as defaults for the data load. If any of the optional directories are not specified here or in the wizard, the default directory is used. Note these are Oracle directory objects that must be created before the external table can be used, and the appropriate permissions must be granted.
Staging Table Suffix: For Staging External Table, the suffix will be appended to the name of the table to create the name of the external table used as the staging table.
Commit and Drop Staging Table: Indicates the default setting for the commit and drop staging table option. If this option is enabled, the staging table will be dropped and the data will be committed at the end of the load.
Database: Worksheet
The Worksheet pane specifies options that affect the behavior of the SQL Worksheet.
Open a worksheet on connect: If this option is checked, a SQL Worksheet window for the connection is automatically opened when you open a database connection. If this option is not checked, you must use the Open SQL Worksheet right-click command or toolbar icon to open a SQL Worksheet.
New Worksheet to use unshared connection: If this option is checked, a separate unshared connection to the database is used for each new SQL Worksheet window that connects to a given database. If this option is not checked, the existing connection to the database is used for subsequent SQL Worksheet windows that connect to the database.
Close all worksheets on disconnect: If this option is checked, all SQL Worksheet windows for any database connection are automatically closed when that connection is disconnected.
Prompt for Save File on Close: If this option is checked, you are prompted to save changes when you close a SQL Worksheet if it contains any unsaved changes. If this option is not checked, any unsaved changes are discarded.
Grid in checker board or zebra pattern: If this option is checked, two different light-colored backgrounds are used for alternating rows of grid displays, to provide some visual contrast. If this option is not checked, all grid rows have a white background.
Max rows to print in a script: Limits the number of rows displayed.
Max lines in script output: Limits the number of lines output.
SQL History Limit: Maximum number of statements that can be stored in the SQL History. Must be greater than 0 (zero). If you enter an invalid value, no value is stored in this field.
Default path to look for scripts: The default directory where SQL Developer looks when you run a script (using @). If you type a path, you can specify multiple delimited locations; if you click Browse, you can select a single location. In addition to any path that you specify, SQL Developer looks in the location specified by the SQLPATH environment variable.
Save bind variables to disk on exit: If this option is checked, bind variables that you enter when running a script are saved on disk for reuse. If you do not want bind variable values stored on disk (for security or other reasons), be sure not to check this option.
Automatically Freeze Result Tabs: If this option is checked, each pane showing the result of a Script Runner query is "pinned" and a new tab is created for each new query's results. If this option is not checked, the results pane is reused for all queries.
Re-initialize on script exit command: If this option is checked, Script Runner context settings, such as a WHENEVER SQLERROR directive and substitution variables, are cleared when the script exits. If this option is not checked, these context settings are retained. For example, uncheck this option if you want to keep any WHENEVER SQLERROR setting specified in a script after the script exits.
Related Topics
The Debugger pane contains general options for the SQL Developer debugger. Other panes contain additional specific kinds of debugger options.
Debugger: Breakpoints
The Breakpoints pane sets the columns to appear in the Breakpoints pane and the scope of each breakpoint.
Debugger: Breakpoints: Default Actions
The Breakpoints: Default Actions pane sets defaults for actions to occur at breakpoints. These actions are the same as on the Actions tab in the Create/Edit Breakpoint dialog box.
Debugger: Data
The Data pane enables you to control the columns to appear in the debugger Data pane and aspects of how the data is displayed.
Debugger: Inspector
The Inspector pane enables you to control the columns to appear in the debugger Inspector pane and aspects of how the data is displayed.
Debugger: Smart Data
The Smart Data pane enables you to control the columns to appear in the debugger Smart Data pane and aspects of how the data is displayed.
Debugger: Stack
The Stack pane enables you to control the columns to appear in the debugger Stack pane and other options.
Debugger: ToolTip
The ToolTip pane enables you to control the columns to appear in the debugger ToolTip pane.
Debugger: Watches
The Watches pane enables you to control the columns to appear in the debugger Watches pane and aspects of how the data is displayed.
Related Topics
The Extensions pane determines which optional extensions SQL Developer uses when it starts. (SQL Developer also uses some mandatory extensions, which users cannot remove or disable.) If you change any settings, you must exit SQL Developer and restart it for the new settings to take effect.
For Versioning Support, the settings (selected or not, and configuration options if selected) affect whether the Team menu is displayed and the items on that menu.
Extensions: Controls the specific optional SQL Developer extensions to use at startup. To cause an extension not to be used at the next startup, uncheck its entry. (To completely remove an extension, you must go to sqldeveloper\extensions
under the SQL Developer installation folder and delete the .jar
files associated with that extension.)
Check for Updates: Checks for any updates to the selected optional SQL Developer extensions, as well as any mandatory extensions. (If the system you are using is behind a firewall, see the SQL Developer user preferences for Web Browser and Proxy.)
Automatically Check for Updates: If this option is checked, SQL Developer automatically checks for any updates to the selected optional SQL Developer extensions and any mandatory extensions at startup. (Enabling this option might increase SQL Developer startup time. You can manually check for updates by clicking Help, then Check for Updates.)
Related Topics
The External Editor pane determines which external editor is called by SQL Developer when you try to edit binary large object (BLOB) data, such as image files, video files, and other files created by certain applications. For each combination of MIME type and file extension, you can specify the executable application to be used to open and edit associated files.
MIME Type: MIME type of the data.
File Extension: File extension for files that contain BLOB data and that are associated with the MIME type.associated
Editor Location: Path to the editor to be used to open and edit files associated with this MIME type and file extension. To edit an existing path or to specify one if the cell is empty, click in the cell, and either modify the existing text or click Browse to find and select the executable file for the editor.
Related Topics
The File Types pane determines which file types and extensions will be opened by default by SQL Developer. The display shows each file extension, the associated file type, and a check mark if files with that extension are to be opened by SQL Developer be default, such as when a user double-clicks the file name.
Details area at bottom: You can modify the file type, content type (text or binary), and whether to open files with this extension automatically by SQL Developer.
To have files with a specific extension be opened by default by SQL Developer, click the file extension in the list, then check Open with SQL Developer in the Details area. This overrides any previous application association that may have been in effect for that file extension.
To add a file extension, click Add and specify the file extension (including the period). After adding the extension, you can modify its associated information by selecting it and using the Details area.
Related Topics
Configure File Type Associations (dialog box)
The Global Ignore List pane specifies filters that determine which files and file types will not be used in any processing.
New Filter: A file name or file type that you want to add to the list of files and file types (in the Filter box) that SQL Developer will ignore during all processing (if the filter is enabled, or checked). You can exclude a particular file by entering its complete file name, such as mumble.txt
, or you can exclude all files of the same type by entering a construct that describes the file type, such as *.txt
.
Add: Adds the new filter to the list in the Filter box.
Remove: Deletes the selected filter from the list in the Filter box.
Restore Defaults: Restores the contents of the Filter box to the SQL Developer defaults.
Filter: Contains the list of files and file types. For each item, if it is enabled (checked), the filter is enforced and the file or file type is ignored by SQL Developer; but if it is disabled (unchecked), the filter is not enforced.
Related Topics
The Migration pane contains options that affect the behavior of SQL Developer when you migrate schema objects and data from third-party databases to an Oracle database.
Default Repository: Migration repository to be used for storing the captured models and converted models. For information about migrating third-party databases to Oracle, including how to create a migration repository, see SQL Developer: Migrating Third-Party Databases.
The Data Move Options pane contains options that affect the behavior when you migrate data from third-party databases to Oracle Database tables generated by the migration. This pane includes options that can be used for online data migration for all supported third-party databases, and for offline data migration for MySQL, SQL Server, and Sybase Adaptive Server.
Oracle Representation for Zero Length String: The value to which Oracle converts zero-length strings in the source data. Can be a space (' ') or a null value (NULL). Specific notes:
For Microsoft Access offline migrations, a null value and a space are considered the same.
For Sybase offline migrations, '' is considered the same as a space (' ').
For MySQL offline migrations, a null value is exported as 'NULL', which is handled as type VARCHAR2. You can specify another escape character by using the --fields-escaped-by option with the mysqldump command (for example, specifying \N
for null or \\
for \). For information about the mysqldump command, see Creating Data Files From MySQL.
For MySQL offline migrations, the data is exported to a file named table-name.txt; so if you are moving data from two or more tables with the same name but in different schemas, rename files as needed so that they are all unique, and modify the SQL*Loader .ctl file accordingly.
Online: Options for online data move operations.
Number of Parallel Data Move Streams (online data moves): The number of internal connections created for simultaneous movement of data from the source database to the Oracle tables. Higher values may shorten the total time required, but will use more database resources during that time.
Number of Rows to Commit After (online data moves): During the data move operation, Oracle pauses to perform an automatic internal commit operation after each number of rows that you specify are moved from the source database to Oracle tables.
Lower values will cause a successful move operation to take more time; but if a failure occurs, it is likely that more source records will exist in the Oracle tables and that if the move operation is resumed, fewer source records will need to be moved. Higher values will cause a successful move operation to take less time; but if a failure occurs, it is likely that fewer source records will exist in the Oracle tables and that is the move operation is resumed, more source records will need to be moved.
Offline: Options for offline data move operations
End of Column Delimiter (offline data moves): String to indicate end of column.
End of Row Delimiter (offline data moves): String to indicate end of row.
Generic Date Mask (offline data moves): Format mask for dates, unless overridden by user-defined custom preferences.
Generic Timestamp Mask (offline data moves): Format mask for timestamps, unless overridden by user-defined custom preferences.
User-Defined Custom Preferences by Source Type (offline data moves): Lets you specify, for one or more source data types, a custom mapping for the function and format mask. Add one row for each mapping. For example, the following rows specify the Source Type, Function, and Mask for custom mappings for the Sybase data types datetime
, smalldatetime
, and time
:
datetime TO_TIMESTAMP mon dd yyyy hh:mi:ss:ff3am smalldatetime TO_DATE Mon dd yyyy hh:miam time TO_TIMESTAMP hh:mi:ss:ff3am
Migration: Generation Options
The Generation Options pane contains options that are used when generating .sql script files for creating migrated database objects in the target schema.
One Single File or A File per Object Type or A file per Object: Determines how many files are created and their relative sizes. Having more files created might be less convenient, but may allow more flexibility with complex migration scenarios.
Generate Comments: Generates comments in the Oracle SQL statements.
Least Privilege Schema Migration: For migrating schema objects in a converted model to Oracle, causes CREATE USER, GRANT, and CONNECT statements not to be generated in the output scripts. You must then ensure that the scripts are run using a connection with sufficient privileges. You can select this option if the database user and connection that you want to use to run the scripts already exist, or if you plan to create them.
Generate Failed Objects: Causes objects that failed to be converted to be included in the generation script, so that you can make any desired changes and then run the script. If this option is not checked, objects that failed to be converted are not included in the generation script.
Generate Stored Procedure for Migrate Blobs Offline: Causes a stored procedure named CLOBtoBLOB_sqldeveloper (with execute access granted to public) to be created if the schema contains a BLOB (binary large object); this procedure is automatically called if you perform an offline capture. If this option is not checked, you will need to use the manual workaround described in Populating the Destination Database Using the Data Files. (After the offline capture, you can delete the CLOBtoBLOB_sqldeveloper procedure or remove execute access from public.)
Create Users: Causes separate database users to be created for each user specified for the objects to be migrated.
Generate Separate Emulation Package: Causes a separate database user named EMULATION to be created. The emulation package is created in the new EMULATION schema and is referenced by all other migrated users. If this option is not checked, no separate EMULATION user is created, and the emulation package is created within each migrated user. Generating a separate emulation user is usually the best practice because the emulation package is defined in one place, rather than having multiple copies of it. However, if you prefer each migrated user to be standalone and not need to reference anything from another user, then uncheck this option.
(Sybase) To Index-Organized Tables: Controls whether Sybase clustered unique constraints or clustered primary keys are converted to Oracle index-organized tables. NONE
causes neither to be converted to index-organized tables (they are converted to Oracle unique constraints and primary keys, respectively). From Clustered Unique Constraints
converts each clustered constraint into a primary key and creates an index-organized table if there is no primary key already. From Clustered Primary Keys
creates an index-organized table if the primary key is clustered (the Sybase default).
Use All Oracle Database 12c Features in Migration: Allows the migrated objects in the target Oracle Database schema to use features that are new in Oracle Database 12c (Release 12.1). If this option is not checked, features that are new in Oracle Database 12c will not be considered for inclusion. Checking this option also adds QUOTA UNLIMITED ON SYSTEM
to the CREATE USER statements in generated scripts. For example (for a user named Emulation
):
CREATE USER Emulation IDENTIFIED BY Emulation DEFAULT TABLESPACE SYSTEM TEMPORARY TABLESPACE TEMP QUOTA UNLIMITED ON SYSTEM;
GRANT CREATE SESSION, RESOURCE, CREATE VIEW, CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW, CREATE SYNONYM, CREATE PUBLIC SYNONYM, ALTER SESSION, CREATE SQL TRANSLATION PROFILE TO Emulation;
(If you want to use a different tablespace than SYSTEM
, modify the scripts accordingly.)
Object Types: Specifies the types of database objects to be included by default in migrations. You can toggle all or toggle individual types to select and deselect types.
Migration: Identifier Options
The Identifier Options pane contains options that apply to object identifiers during migrations.
Prepended to All Identifier Names (Microsoft Access, Microsoft SQL Server, and Sybase Adaptive Server migrations only): A string to be added at the beginning of the name of migrated objects. For example, if you specify the string as XYZ_, and if a source table is named EMPLOYEES, the migrated table will be named XYZ_EMPLOYEES. (Be aware of any object name length restrictions if you use this option.)
Is Quoted Identifier On (Microsoft SQL Server and Sybase Adaptive Server migrations only): If this option is enabled, quotation marks (double-quotes) can be used to refer to identifiers (for example, SELECT "Col 1" from "Table 1"); if this option is not enabled, quotation marks identify string literals. Important: The setting of this option must match the setting in the source database to be migrated, as explained in Before Migrating From Microsoft SQL Server or Sybase Adaptive Server.
Migration: Teradata
The Teradata pane contains options that apply to migrations from Teradata.
Fast Export Min Sessions and Fast Export Max Sessions: The minimum and maximum number, respectively, of sessions to be used for the Teradata FastExport utility.
Migration: Translators
The Translators pane contains options that relate to conversion of stored procedures and functions from their source database format to Oracle format. (These options apply only to migrations from Microsoft Access, Microsoft SQL Server, and Sybase Adaptive Server.)
Default Source Date Format: Default date format mask to be used when casting string literals to dates in stored procedures and functions.
Variable Name Prefix: String to be used as the prefix in the names of resulting variables.
In Parameter Prefix: String to be used as the prefix in the names of resulting input parameters.
Query Assignment Translation: Option to determine what is generated for a query assignment: only the assignment, assignment with exception handling logic, or assignment using a cursor LOOP ... END LOOP structure to fetch each row of the query into variables.
Display AST: If this option is checked, the abstract syntax tree (AST) is displayed in the Source Tree pane of the Translation Scratch Editor window (described in Using the Translation Scratch Editor) if you perform a translation.
Generate Compound Triggers: If this option is checked, then depending on the source code, SQL Developer can convert a Sybase or SQL Server trigger to an Oracle compound trigger, which uses two temporary tables to replicate the inserted and deleted tables in Sybase and SQL Server. In such cases, this can enable the conversion of logic that cannot otherwise be converted.
Related Topics
The Mouseover Popups pane specifies text to be displayed on hover-related mouse actions over relevant object names.
Popup Name: The type of information to be displayed: Data Values (value of the item under the mouse pointer, such as the value of a variable during a debugging operation), Documentation (documentation on the item under the mouse pointer, such as Javadoc on a method call), or Source (source code of the item under the mouse pointer, such as the source code of a method).
Activate Via: Use action with the mouse cursor to activate the display: Hover, or Hover while pressing one or two specified modifier keys.
Description: Description of the associated Popup Name entry.
Smart Enabled: If this option is checked, then the text for the relevant type of information is displayed if Smart Popup is also checked.
Smart Popup: If this option is checked, the relevant text for the first smart-enabled popup is displayed for the item under the mouse pointer.
Related Topics
The Shortcut Keys pane enables you to view and customize the shortcut key (also called accelerator key) mappings for SQL Developer.
Show Mapped Commands Only: If this option is checked, only shortcut keys with mappings are displayed.
More Actions:
Export: Exports the shortcut key definitions to an XML file.
Import: Imports the shortcut key definitions from a previously exported XML file.
Load Keyboard Scheme: Drops all current shortcut key mappings and sets the mappings in the specified scheme. (This option was called Load Preset in some previous releases.) If you have made changes to the mappings and want to restore the default settings, select Default.
Category: Select All or a specific category (Code Editor, Database, Debug, Edit, and so on), to control which actions are displayed.
Command: The actions for the selected category. When you select an action, any existing shortcut key mappings are displayed.
Shortcut: Any existing key mappings for the selected action. To remove an existing key mapping, select it and click Remove.
New Shortcut: The new shortcut key to be associated with the action. Press and hold the desired modifier key, then press the other key. For example, to associate Ctrl+J with an action, press and hold the Ctrl key, then press the j key. If any actions are currently associated with that shortcut key, they are listed in the Current Assignment box.
Conflicts: A read-only display of the current action, if any, that is mapped to the shortcut key that you specified in the New Shortcut box.
Related Topics
Unit Test Parameters preferences affect the behavior of the SQL Developer unit testing feature (described in SQL Developer: Unit Testing).
Configuration set to use for lookups: Lookup category to be used for automatically generating test implementations when you create a unit test, as explained in Automatically Creating Implementations. The list includes the default category and any user-added categories (see the Unit Testing: Add Category dialog box).
Related Topics
Versioning preferences affect the behavior of the version control and management systems that you have available for use with SQL Developer. For information about using versioning with SQL Developer, see Using Versioning.
The CVS pane specifies options for use with CVS (Concurrent Versions System).
CVS Client: Internal to Oracle SQL Developer (installed with SQL Developer) or External Executable (separately installed CVS client, for which you must specify the name or path).
Name on System Path: Name of the CVS server executable. The default (cvs) is correct for most installations. This option assumes that the name of the CVS server executable is on the system path.
Path from Environment: Location of the CVS server executable, especially if there is more than one on the system path. The selection area will list all instances of the CVS server executable known to the local system. You may have more than one version of CVS installed: this option lets you specify which of them to use with SQL Developer.
Other Path: Location of the CVS server executable, if it is not on the system path at all.
Run CVS in Edit/Watch Mode: If this option is enabled, you coordinate access to files by declaring an editor for them through CVS, after which they may be modified. Only those files that you check out after changing this preference will be affected. If this option is disabled, the edit and watch commands on the Team menu are disabled.
State Overlay Scheme: Scheme for the icons displayed alongside folder and file names in the navigators to indicate their versioning status.
Versioning: CVS: Commands
The CVS: Commands pane sets options for CVS source control. Some options are not available when using the internal CVS client.
Enable Advanced Controls: If this option is enabled, advanced CVS controls are shown in dialog boxes. If you find that you use only basic CVS features, you might want to use SQL Developer without advanced controls, to reduce complexity and save screen space.
Global Options: Run Quietly: If this option is enabled, informational messages are suppressed.
Global Options: Do not Log Commands: If this option is enabled, CVS commands are not logged in the repository command history.
Global Options: Encrypt: If this option is enabled, all communication between the client and the server is encrypted. Encryption support is not available in CVS by default; it must be enabled using a special configuration option when you build CVS.
Set Compression Level (z): If this option is enabled, you can set the compression level for files sent between client and server. The level can be set from Minimum (high speed, low compression) to Maximum (low speed, high compression).
Keyword Substitution Mode: CVS uses keyword substitution modes to insert revision information into files when they are checked out or updated. This option controls the mode of replacement for keyword substitution in versioned files:
Automatic: The default, recommended option.
Keyword-Only Mode: Generates only keyword names in keyword strings and omits their values. This option is useful for disregarding differences due to keyword substitution when comparing different revisions of a file.
Keyword-Value Mode: Generates keyword strings using the default form.
Keyword-Value-Locker Mode: Like the keyword-value mode, except that the name of the locker is always inserted if the given revision is currently locked.
Old-Contents Mode: Generates the old keyword string, present in the working file just before it was checked in.
Value-Only Mode: Generates only keyword values for keyword strings. This can help generate files in programming languages where it is hard to strip keyword delimiters from a string. However, further keyword substitution cannot be performed once the keyword names are removed, so this option should be used with care.
On Commit: Use Comment Templates: If this option is enabled, your commit comments will be entered through template forms. The forms are set up by the CVS system administrator. There may be different forms for different circumstances and installations, and it may be that none of them are suitable for your commit comments. In this case, this preference lets you disable the use of all forms.
On Commit: Automatically Add Files: If this option is enabled, local files are added to the CVS repository whenever you perform a commit action.
Create Backup Files on Remove: If this option is enabled, backup copies are made of files that are removed through actions of the source control system.
Versioning: CVS: General
The CVS: General pane specifies environment settings and the operation timeout.
Use Navigator State Overlay Icons: If this option is enabled, state overlay icons are used. State overlay icons are small symbols associated with object names in the navigators. They indicate the state of version-controlled files (for example, "up to date").
Use Navigator State Overlay Labels: If this option is enabled, state overlay labels are used. State overlay labels are tooltips associated with object names in the navigators.
Automatically Make Files Editable: If this option is enabled, an editor is automatically used on a data file when you start to change it. (If you edit a file unintentionally, immediately use Versioning, then Unedit to revert.)
Operation Timeout: Maximum time allowed for CVS operations to complete.
Versioning: CVS: Navigator Labels
The CVS: Navigator Labels pane specifies formatting for CVS information appears on navigator nodes and tool tips. For a full explanation of keyword substitution modes, see the CVS documentation.
Versioning: CVS: Version Tools
The CVS: Version Tools pane specifies options for the pending changes window and the merge editor.
Use Outgoing Changes Commit Dialog: Enables you to make optimum use of limited screen space when the Pending Changes window is open. You can save screen space by not showing the Comments area of the Pending Changes window, but you might still want to add comments before a commit action. You can choose the circumstances under which the Commit dialog is opened: always, only when the Comments area of the Pending Changes window is hidden, or never.
Incoming Changes Timer Interval: The frequency at which the change status of files is checked.
Merge Editor: Specifies whether files are merged locally or at the server.
The Perforce pane lets you specify the Perforce client executable to invoke from SQL Developer. Specify the name on the system path, the full file path in your local environment, or another path.
Versioning: Perforce or Subversion: Comment Templates
The Comment Templates pane specifies templates for comments to be used with commit operations. For example, a template might contain text like the following:
Problem Description (with bug ID if any): Fix Description:
You can add, edit, and remove comment templates, and you can export templates to an XML file or import templates that had previously been exported.
Versioning: Perforce: General
The Perforce: General pane specifies environment settings and the operation timeout.
Use Navigator State Overlay Icons: If this option is enabled, state overlay icons are used. State overlay icons are small symbols associated with object names in the navigators. They indicate the state of version-controlled files (for example, "up to date").
Use Navigator State Overlay Labels: If this option is enabled, state overlay labels are used. State overlay labels are tooltips associated with object names in the navigators.
Write Messages to Log Window: If this option is enabled, Perforce messages are written to the Messages - Log window.
Automatically Open Files for Edit: If this option is enabled, data files are marked as open for edit, and then opened so that you can immediately start making changes. (If you edit a file unintentionally, immediately use VersioningRevert to revert.)
Operation Timeout: Maximum number of seconds, minutes, or hours allowed for Perforce operations to complete.
Versioning: Perforce: Version Tools
The Perforce: Version Tools pane specifies options for the pending changes window and the merge editor.
Use Outgoing Submit Dialog: Enables you to make optimum use of limited screen space when the Pending Changes window is open. You can save screen space by not showing the Comments area of the Pending Changes window, but you might still want to add comments before a commit action. You can choose the circumstances under which the Commit dialog is opened: always, only when the Comments area of the Pending Changes window is hidden, or never.
Merge Editor: Specifies whether files are merged locally or at the server.
The Subversion pane specifies the Subversion client to use with SQL Developer.
Versioning: Subversion or Perforce: Comment Templates
The Comment Templates pane specifies templates for comments to be used with commit operations. For example, a template might contain text like the following:
Problem Description (with bug ID if any): Fix Description:
You can add, edit, and remove comment templates, and you can export templates to an XML file or import templates that had previously been exported.
Versioning: Subversion: General
The Subversion: General pane specifies environment settings and the operation timeout.
Use Navigator State Overlay Icons: If this option is enabled, state overlay icons are used. State overlay icons are small symbols associated with object names in the navigators. They indicate the state of version-controlled files (for example, "up to date").
Use Navigator State Overlay Labels: If this option is enabled, state overlay labels are used. State overlay labels are tooltips associated with object names in the navigators.
Automatically Add New Files on Committing Working Copy: If this option is enabled, any new files you have created in your working copy are automatically added to the Subversion repository whenever you commit any individual file. Otherwise, Subversion will not add new files when you commit changes; you must continue to add new files to Subversion explicitly.
Automatically Lock Files with svn:needs-lock Property After Checkout: If this option is enabled, files you check out from the repository are automatically locked, preventing other team members from checking them out until you release the files.
Use Merge Wizard for Subversion Merging: If this option is enabled, the Merge wizard rather than the Merge dialog box is invoked for merge requests.
Operation Timeout: Maximum number of seconds, minutes, or hours allowed for Subversion operations to complete.
Edit Subversion Configuration File: To modify the Subversion file directly, click Edit "server". You can make changes to server-specific protocol parameters such as proxy host, proxy port, timeout, compression, and other values. Lines beginning with # are interpreted as comments.
Versioning: Subversion: Version Tools
The Subversion: Version Tools pane specifies options for the pending changes window and the merge editor.
Use Outgoing Changes Commit Dialog: Enables you to make optimum use of limited screen space when the Pending Changes window is open. You can save screen space by not showing the Comments area of the Pending Changes window, but you might still want to add comments before a commit action. You can choose the circumstances under which the Commit dialog is opened: always, only when the Comments area of the Pending Changes window is hidden, or never.
Incoming Changes Timer Interval: The frequency at which the change status of files is checked.
Merge Editor: Specifies whether files are merged locally or at the server.
Related Topics
The Web Browser and Proxy settings are relevant only when you use the Check for Updates feature (click Help, then Check for Updates), and only if your system is behind a firewall.
Web Browsers
Displays the available web browsers and the default browser for Check for Update operations. You can click under Default to change the default browser.
For each browser, you can determine whether it is the default, and you can see and optionally change its name , the path to the application's executable file, application command parameters, and the icon.
Proxy Settings
You can choose no proxy, system default proxy settings, or manually specified proxy settings for Check for Update operations. For manually specified settings, heck your Web browser options or preferences for the appropriate values for these fields.
Internet Files
You can choose whether to enable Internet cookies for Check for Update operations.
Clear All Cookies: Clears all existing cookies.
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The XML Schemas pane lets you view all the currently registered XML schemas, add new schemas to support additional namespaces and elements, remove existing schemas, and unload schemas from memory.
SQL Developer Schemas for XML Editing: Lists the names and locations of the pre-registered schemas currently available when editing XML documents and the file extension with which each schema is associated.
User Schemas for XML Editing: Lists the names and locations of the schemas you have added since installing SQL Developer that are available when editing XML documents, and the file extension with which each schema is associated.
Add: Displays the Register Schema for File Type dialog box for specifying a new schema to add to the list of User Schemas.
Remove: Removes the selected schema from the list.
Edit: Displays a dialog box in which you can modify a previously registered schema.
For adding or editing, you can specify the location (file system or URL) and the file extension to register the schema for a specific file type.
Clear Cache: Unloads all currently loaded schemas from memory when you modify a schema. Any needed schemas will then be reloaded, including the modified schema.
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