Database Documentation Tools

FAQ on Technical Writing

Maintaining database documentation may be a pain if you don’t use the right tool. That’s why I gathered here some great ones to help you.

Doc xPress

DOC xPress offers complete documentation for SQL Server databases and BI tools, including SSIS, SSRS, SSAS, Oracle, Hive, Tableau, Informatica, and Excel. In addition, the documentation can be customized for different audiences, so users only see the most relevant information for their role.

Commercial: Commercial

Free edition: No

Allows editing: Yes

Metadata stored in: External repository

Export: CHM,HTML,MS Word,RTF

ER Diagram: Yes

Dependencies: Yes

Elasoft SqlSpec

SqlSpec is a database documentation tool that will generate easy-to-read database documentation for almost all platforms. It has both GUI and command line interface. It enables you to generate entity-relation diagrams.

Commercial: Commercial

Free edition: No

Allows editing: Yes

Metadata stored in: Database comments/extended properties

Export: -

ER Diagram: Yes

Dependencies: Yes

xSQL Documenter

xSQL Documenter provides comprehensive, uniform, and easily navigable database documentation in HTML and compiled CHM format. It can run as a console application, useful for automating the process of generating documentation for your databases on a schedule, or for integrating xSQL Documenter into your development process.

Commercial: Commercial

Free edition: No

Allows editing: Yes

Metadata stored in: Database comments/extended properties

Export: CHM,HTML

ER Diagram: Yes

Dependencies: Yes

Redgate SQL Doc

Redgate SQL Doc is a simple tool for describing and generating documentation of SQL Server automatically. It eliminates the tedious and time-consuming manual documentation tasks and enables you to satisfy audit requirements by keeping complete documentation.

Commercial: Commercial

Free edition: No

Allows editing: Yes

Metadata stored in: Database comments/extended properties

Export: CHM,HTML,MS Word,PDF

ER Diagram: No

Dependencies: Yes

Dataedo

Dataedo enables you to catalog, document, and understand your data with Data Dictionary, Business Glossary, and ERDs. It enables to document your relational databases and share documentation in interactive HTML.

Commercial: Commercial

Free edition: No

Allows editing: Yes

Metadata stored in: External repository

Export: HTML,MS Excel,PDF

ER Diagram: Yes

Dependencies: Yes

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FAQ on Technical Writing