Define an Article
Applies to: 
SQL Server
This topic describes how to define an article in SQL Server by using SQL Server Management Studio, Transact-SQL, or Replication Management Objects (RMO).
In This Topic
Before you begin:
To define an article, using:
Before You Begin
Limitations and Restrictions
- Article names cannot include any of the following characters: % , * , [ , ] , | , : , " , ? , ' , \ , / , < , >. If objects in the database include any of these characters and you want to replicate them, you must specify an article name that is different from the object name.
Security
When possible, prompt users to enter security credentials at runtime. If you must store credentials, use the cryptographic services provided by the Microsoft Windows .NET Framework.
Using SQL Server Management Studio
Create publications and define articles with the New Publication Wizard. After a publication is created, view and modify publication properties in the Publication Properties - <Publication> dialog box. For information about creating a publication from an Oracle database, see Create a Publication from an Oracle Database.
To create a publication and define articles
Connect to the Publisher in Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio, and then expand the server node.
Expand the Replication folder, and then right-click the Local Publications folder.
Click New Publication.
Follow the pages in the New Publication Wizard to:
Specify a Distributor if distribution has not been configured on the server. For more information about configuring distribution, see Configure Publishing and Distribution.
If you specify on the Distributor page that the Publisher server will act as its own Distributor (a local Distributor), and the server is not configured as a Distributor, the New Publication Wizard will configure the server. You will specify a default snapshot folder for the Distributor on the Snapshot Folder page. The snapshot folder is simply a directory that you have designated as a share; agents that read from and write to this folder must have sufficient permissions to access it. For more information about securing the folder appropriately, see Secure the Snapshot Folder.
If you specify that another server should act as the Distributor, you must enter a password on the Administrative Password page for connections made from the Publisher to the Distributor. This password must match the password specified when the Publisher was enabled at the remote Distributor.
For more information, see Configure Distribution.
Choose a publication database.
Select a publication type. For more information, see Types of Replication.
Specify data and database objects to publish; optionally filter columns from table articles, and set article properties.
Optionally filter rows from table articles. For more information, see Filter Published Data.
Set the Snapshot Agent schedule.
Specify the credentials under which the following replication agents run and make connections:
- Snapshot Agent for all publications.
- Log Reader Agent for all transactional publications.
- Queue Reader Agent for transactional publications that allow updating subscriptions.
For more information, see Replication Agent Security Model and Replication Security Best Practices.
Optionally script the publication. For more information, see Scripting Replication.
Specify a name for the publication.
Using Transact-SQL
After a publication has been created, articles can be created programmatically using replication stored procedures. The stored procedures used to create an article will depend on the type of publication for which the article is being defined. For more information, see Create a Publication.
To define an article for a Snapshot or Transactional Publication
At the Publisher on the publication database, execute sp_addarticle. Specify the name of the publication to which the article belongs for
@publication, a name for the article for@article, the database object being published for@source_object, and any other optional parameters. Use@source_ownerto specify the schema ownership of the object, if not dbo. If the article is not a log-based table article, specify the article type for@type; for more information, see Specify Article Types (Replication Transact-SQL Programming).To horizontally filter rows in a table or view an article, use sp_articlefilter to define the filter clause. For more information, see Define and Modify a Static Row Filter.
To vertically filter columns in a table or view an article, use sp_articlecolumn. For more information, see Define and Modify a Column Filter.
Execute sp_articleview if the article is filtered.
If the publication has existing subscriptions and sp_helppublication returns a value of 0 in the immediate_sync column, you must call sp_addsubscription to add the article to each existing subscription.
If the publication has existing pull subscriptions, execute sp_refreshsubscriptions at the Publisher to create a new snapshot for existing pull subscriptions that contains just the new article.
Note
For subscriptions that are not initialized using a snapshot, you do not need to execute sp_refreshsubscriptions as this procedure is executed by sp_addarticle.
To define an article for a Merge Publication
At the Publisher on the publication database, execute sp_addmergearticle. Specify the name of the publication for
@publication, a name for the article name for@article, and the object being published for@source_object. To horizontally filter table rows, specify a value for@subset_filterclause. For more information, see Define and Modify a Parameterized Row Filter for a Merge Article and Define and Modify a Static Row Filter. If the article is not a table article, specify the article type for@type. For more information, see Specify Article Types (Replication Transact-SQL Programming).(Optional) At the Publisher on the publication database, execute sp_addmergefilter to define a join filter between two articles. For more information, see Define and Modify a Join Filter Between Merge Articles.
(Optional) At the Publisher on the publication database, execute sp_mergearticlecolumn to filter table columns. For more information, see Define and Modify a Column Filter.
Examples (Transact-SQL)
This example defines an article based on the Product table for a transactional publication, where the article is filtered both horizontally and vertically.
DECLARE @publication AS sysname;
DECLARE @table AS sysname;
DECLARE @filterclause AS nvarchar(500);
DECLARE @filtername AS nvarchar(386);
DECLARE @schemaowner AS sysname;
SET @publication = N'AdvWorksProductTran';
SET @table = N'Product';
SET @filterclause = N'[DiscontinuedDate] IS NULL';
SET @filtername = N'filter_out_discontinued';
SET @schemaowner = N'Production';
-- Add a horizontally and vertically filtered article for the Product table.
-- Manually set @schema_option to ensure that the Production schema
-- is generated at the Subscriber (0x8000000).
EXEC sp_addarticle
@publication = @publication,
@article = @table,
@source_object = @table,
@source_owner = @schemaowner,
@schema_option = 0x80030F3,
@vertical_partition = N'true',
@type = N'logbased',
@filter_clause = @filterclause;
-- (Optional) Manually call the stored procedure to create the
-- horizontal filtering stored procedure. Since the type is
-- 'logbased', this stored procedures is executed automatically.
EXEC sp_articlefilter
@publication = @publication,
@article = @table,
@filter_clause = @filterclause,
@filter_name = @filtername;
-- Add all columns to the article.
EXEC sp_articlecolumn
@publication = @publication,
@article = @table;
-- Remove the DaysToManufacture column from the article
EXEC sp_articlecolumn
@publication = @publication,
@article = @table,
@column = N'DaysToManufacture',
@operation = N'drop';
-- (Optional) Manually call the stored procedure to create the
-- vertical filtering view. Since the type is 'logbased',
-- this stored procedures is executed automatically.
EXEC sp_articleview
@publication = @publication,
@article = @table,
@filter_clause = @filterclause;
GO
This example defines articles for a merge publication, where the SalesOrderHeader article is statically filtered based on SalesPersonID, and the SalesOrderDetail article is join filtered based on SalesOrderHeader.
DECLARE @publication AS sysname;
DECLARE @table1 AS sysname;
DECLARE @table2 AS sysname;
DECLARE @table3 AS sysname;
DECLARE @salesschema AS sysname;
DECLARE @hrschema AS sysname;
DECLARE @filterclause AS nvarchar(1000);
SET @publication = N'AdvWorksSalesOrdersMerge';
SET @table1 = N'Employee';
SET @table2 = N'SalesOrderHeader';
SET @table3 = N'SalesOrderDetail';
SET @salesschema = N'Sales';
SET @hrschema = N'HumanResources';
SET @filterclause = N'Employee.LoginID = HOST_NAME()';
-- Add a filtered article for the Employee table.
EXEC sp_addmergearticle
@publication = @publication,
@article = @table1,
@source_object = @table1,
@type = N'table',
@source_owner = @hrschema,
@schema_option = 0x0004CF1,
@description = N'article for the Employee table',
@subset_filterclause = @filterclause;
-- Add an article for the SalesOrderHeader table that is filtered
-- based on Employee and horizontally filtered.
EXEC sp_addmergearticle
@publication = @publication,
@article = @table2,
@source_object = @table2,
@type = N'table',
@source_owner = @salesschema,
@vertical_partition = N'true',
@schema_option = 0x0034EF1,
@description = N'article for the SalesOrderDetail table';
-- Add an article for the SalesOrderDetail table that is filtered
-- based on SaledOrderHeader.
EXEC sp_addmergearticle
@publication = @publication,
@article = @table3,
@source_object = @table3,
@source_owner = @salesschema,
@description = 'article for the SalesOrderHeader table',
@identityrangemanagementoption = N'auto',
@pub_identity_range = 100000,
@identity_range = 100,
@threshold = 80,
@schema_option = 0x0004EF1;
-- Add all columns to the SalesOrderHeader article.
EXEC sp_mergearticlecolumn
@publication = @publication,
@article = @table2,
@force_invalidate_snapshot = 1,
@force_reinit_subscription = 1;
-- Remove the credit card Approval Code column.
EXEC sp_mergearticlecolumn
@publication = @publication,
@article = @table2,
@column = N'CreditCardApprovalCode',
@operation = N'drop',
@force_invalidate_snapshot = 1,
@force_reinit_subscription = 1;
-- Add a merge join filter between Employee and SalesOrderHeader.
EXEC sp_addmergefilter
@publication = @publication,
@article = @table2,
@filtername = N'SalesOrderHeader_Employee',
@join_articlename = @table1,
@join_filterclause = N'Employee.BusinessEntityID = SalesOrderHeader.SalesPersonID',
@join_unique_key = 1,
@filter_type = 1,
@force_invalidate_snapshot = 1,
@force_reinit_subscription = 1;
-- Add a merge join filter between SalesOrderHeader and SalesOrderDetail.
EXEC sp_addmergefilter
@publication = @publication,
@article = @table3,
@filtername = N'SalesOrderDetail_SalesOrderHeader',
@join_articlename = @table2,
@join_filterclause = N'SalesOrderHeader.SalesOrderID = SalesOrderDetail.SalesOrderID',
@join_unique_key = 1,
@filter_type = 1,
@force_invalidate_snapshot = 1,
@force_reinit_subscription = 1;
GO
Using Replication Management Objects (RMO)
You can define articles programmatically by using Replication Management Objects (RMO). The RMO classes that you use to define an article depend on the type of publication for which the article is defined.
Examples (RMO)
The following example adds an article with row and column filters to a transactional publication.
// Define the Publisher, publication, and article names.
string publisherName = publisherInstance;
string publicationName = "AdvWorksProductTran";
string publicationDbName = "AdventureWorks2022";
string articleName = "Product";
string schemaOwner = "Production";
TransArticle article;
// Create a connection to the Publisher.
ServerConnection conn = new ServerConnection(publisherName);
// Create a filtered transactional articles in the following steps:
// 1) Create the article with a horizontal filter clause.
// 2) Add columns to or remove columns from the article.
try
{
// Connect to the Publisher.
conn.Connect();
// Define a horizontally filtered, log-based table article.
article = new TransArticle();
article.ConnectionContext = conn;
article.Name = articleName;
article.DatabaseName = publicationDbName;
article.SourceObjectName = articleName;
article.SourceObjectOwner = schemaOwner;
article.PublicationName = publicationName;
article.Type = ArticleOptions.LogBased;
article.FilterClause = "DiscontinuedDate IS NULL";
// Ensure that we create the schema owner at the Subscriber.
article.SchemaOption |= CreationScriptOptions.Schema;
if (!article.IsExistingObject)
{
// Create the article.
article.Create();
}
else
{
throw new ApplicationException(String.Format(
"The article {0} already exists in publication {1}.",
articleName, publicationName));
}
// Create an array of column names to remove from the article.
String[] columns = new String[1];
columns[0] = "DaysToManufacture";
// Remove the column from the article.
article.RemoveReplicatedColumns(columns);
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
// Implement appropriate error handling here.
throw new ApplicationException("The article could not be created.", ex);
}
finally
{
conn.Disconnect();
}
' Define the Publisher, publication, and article names.
Dim publisherName As String = publisherInstance
Dim publicationName As String = "AdvWorksProductTran"
Dim publicationDbName As String = "AdventureWorks2022"
Dim articleName As String = "Product"
Dim schemaOwner As String = "Production"
Dim article As TransArticle
' Create a connection to the Publisher.
Dim conn As ServerConnection = New ServerConnection(publisherName)
' Create a filtered transactional articles in the following steps:
' 1) Create the article with a horizontal filter clause.
' 2) Add columns to or remove columns from the article.
Try
' Connect to the Publisher.
conn.Connect()
' Define a horizontally filtered, log-based table article.
article = New TransArticle()
article.ConnectionContext = conn
article.Name = articleName
article.DatabaseName = publicationDbName
article.SourceObjectName = articleName
article.SourceObjectOwner = schemaOwner
article.PublicationName = publicationName
article.Type = ArticleOptions.LogBased
article.FilterClause = "DiscontinuedDate IS NULL"
' Ensure that we create the schema owner at the Subscriber.
article.SchemaOption = article.SchemaOption Or _
CreationScriptOptions.Schema
If Not article.IsExistingObject Then
' Create the article.
article.Create()
Else
Throw New ApplicationException(String.Format( _
"The article {0} already exists in publication {1}.", _
articleName, publicationName))
End If
' Create an array of column names to remove from the article.
Dim columns() As String = New String(0) {}
columns(0) = "DaysToManufacture"
' Remove the column from the article.
article.RemoveReplicatedColumns(columns)
Catch ex As Exception
' Implement appropriate error handling here.
Throw New ApplicationException("The article could not be created.", ex)
Finally
conn.Disconnect()
End Try
The following example adds three articles to a merge publication. The articles have column filters, and two join filters are used to propagate a parameterized row filter to the other articles.
// Define the Publisher and publication names.
string publisherName = publisherInstance;
string publicationName = "AdvWorksSalesOrdersMerge";
string publicationDbName = "AdventureWorks2022";
// Specify article names.
string articleName1 = "Employee";
string articleName2 = "SalesOrderHeader";
string articleName3 = "SalesOrderDetail";
// Specify join filter information.
string filterName12 = "SalesOrderHeader_Employee";
string filterClause12 = "Employee.EmployeeID = " +
"SalesOrderHeader.SalesPersonID";
string filterName23 = "SalesOrderDetail_SalesOrderHeader";
string filterClause23 = "SalesOrderHeader.SalesOrderID = " +
"SalesOrderDetail.SalesOrderID";
string salesSchema = "Sales";
string hrSchema = "HumanResources";
MergeArticle article1 = new MergeArticle();
MergeArticle article2 = new MergeArticle();
MergeArticle article3 = new MergeArticle();
MergeJoinFilter filter12 = new MergeJoinFilter();
MergeJoinFilter filter23 = new MergeJoinFilter();
// Create a connection to the Publisher.
ServerConnection conn = new ServerConnection(publisherName);
// Create three merge articles that are horizontally partitioned
// using a parameterized row filter on Employee.EmployeeID, which is
// extended to the two other articles using join filters.
try
{
// Connect to the Publisher.
conn.Connect();
// Create each article.
// For clarity, each article is defined separately.
// In practice, iterative structures and arrays should
// be used to efficiently create multiple articles.
// Set the required properties for the Employee article.
article1.ConnectionContext = conn;
article1.Name = articleName1;
article1.DatabaseName = publicationDbName;
article1.SourceObjectName = articleName1;
article1.SourceObjectOwner = hrSchema;
article1.PublicationName = publicationName;
article1.Type = ArticleOptions.TableBased;
// Define the parameterized filter clause based on Hostname.
article1.FilterClause = "Employee.LoginID = HOST_NAME()";
// Set the required properties for the SalesOrderHeader article.
article2.ConnectionContext = conn;
article2.Name = articleName2;
article2.DatabaseName = publicationDbName;
article2.SourceObjectName = articleName2;
article2.SourceObjectOwner = salesSchema;
article2.PublicationName = publicationName;
article2.Type = ArticleOptions.TableBased;
// Set the required properties for the SalesOrderDetail article.
article3.ConnectionContext = conn;
article3.Name = articleName3;
article3.DatabaseName = publicationDbName;
article3.SourceObjectName = articleName3;
article3.SourceObjectOwner = salesSchema;
article3.PublicationName = publicationName;
article3.Type = ArticleOptions.TableBased;
if (!article1.IsExistingObject) article1.Create();
if (!article2.IsExistingObject) article2.Create();
if (!article3.IsExistingObject) article3.Create();
// Select published columns for SalesOrderHeader.
// Create an array of column names to vertically filter out.
// In this example, only one column is removed.
String[] columns = new String[1];
columns[0] = "CreditCardApprovalCode";
// Remove the column.
article2.RemoveReplicatedColumns(columns);
// Define a merge filter clauses that filter
// SalesOrderHeader based on Employee and
// SalesOrderDetail based on SalesOrderHeader.
// Parent article.
filter12.JoinArticleName = articleName1;
// Child article.
filter12.ArticleName = articleName2;
filter12.FilterName = filterName12;
filter12.JoinUniqueKey = true;
filter12.FilterTypes = FilterTypes.JoinFilter;
filter12.JoinFilterClause = filterClause12;
// Add the join filter to the child article.
article2.AddMergeJoinFilter(filter12);
// Parent article.
filter23.JoinArticleName = articleName2;
// Child article.
filter23.ArticleName = articleName3;
filter23.FilterName = filterName23;
filter23.JoinUniqueKey = true;
filter23.FilterTypes = FilterTypes.JoinFilter;
filter23.JoinFilterClause = filterClause23;
// Add the join filter to the child article.
article3.AddMergeJoinFilter(filter23);
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
// Do error handling here and rollback the transaction.
throw new ApplicationException(
"The filtered articles could not be created", ex);
}
finally
{
conn.Disconnect();
}
' Define the Publisher and publication names.
Dim publisherName As String = publisherInstance
Dim publicationName As String = "AdvWorksSalesOrdersMerge"
Dim publicationDbName As String = "AdventureWorks2022"
' Specify article names.
Dim articleName1 As String = "Employee"
Dim articleName2 As String = "SalesOrderHeader"
Dim articleName3 As String = "SalesOrderDetail"
' Specify join filter information.
Dim filterName12 As String = "SalesOrderHeader_Employee"
Dim filterClause12 As String = "Employee.EmployeeID = " + _
"SalesOrderHeader.SalesPersonID"
Dim filterName23 As String = "SalesOrderDetail_SalesOrderHeader"
Dim filterClause23 As String = "SalesOrderHeader.SalesOrderID = " + _
"SalesOrderDetail.SalesOrderID"
Dim salesSchema As String = "Sales"
Dim hrSchema As String = "HumanResources"
Dim article1 As MergeArticle = New MergeArticle()
Dim article2 As MergeArticle = New MergeArticle()
Dim article3 As MergeArticle = New MergeArticle()
Dim filter12 As MergeJoinFilter = New MergeJoinFilter()
Dim filter23 As MergeJoinFilter = New MergeJoinFilter()
' Create a connection to the Publisher.
Dim conn As ServerConnection = New ServerConnection(publisherName)
' Create three merge articles that are horizontally partitioned
' using a parameterized row filter on Employee.EmployeeID, which is
' extended to the two other articles using join filters.
Try
' Connect to the Publisher.
conn.Connect()
' Create each article.
' For clarity, each article is defined separately.
' In practice, iterative structures and arrays should
' be used to efficiently create multiple articles.
' Set the required properties for the Employee article.
article1.ConnectionContext = conn
article1.Name = articleName1
article1.DatabaseName = publicationDbName
article1.SourceObjectName = articleName1
article1.SourceObjectOwner = hrSchema
article1.PublicationName = publicationName
article1.Type = ArticleOptions.TableBased
' Define the parameterized filter clause based on Hostname.
article1.FilterClause = "Employee.LoginID = HOST_NAME()"
' Set the required properties for the SalesOrderHeader article.
article2.ConnectionContext = conn
article2.Name = articleName2
article2.DatabaseName = publicationDbName
article2.SourceObjectName = articleName2
article2.SourceObjectOwner = salesSchema
article2.PublicationName = publicationName
article2.Type = ArticleOptions.TableBased
' Set the required properties for the SalesOrderDetail article.
article3.ConnectionContext = conn
article3.Name = articleName3
article3.DatabaseName = publicationDbName
article3.SourceObjectName = articleName3
article3.SourceObjectOwner = salesSchema
article3.PublicationName = publicationName
article3.Type = ArticleOptions.TableBased
' Create the articles, if they do not already exist.
If article1.IsExistingObject = False Then
article1.Create()
End If
If article2.IsExistingObject = False Then
article2.Create()
End If
If article3.IsExistingObject = False Then
article3.Create()
End If
' Select published columns for SalesOrderHeader.
' Create an array of column names to vertically filter out.
' In this example, only one column is removed.
Dim columns() As String = New String(0) {}
columns(0) = "CreditCardApprovalCode"
' Remove the column.
article2.RemoveReplicatedColumns(columns)
' Define a merge filter clauses that filter
' SalesOrderHeader based on Employee and
' SalesOrderDetail based on SalesOrderHeader.
' Parent article.
filter12.JoinArticleName = articleName1
' Child article.
filter12.ArticleName = articleName2
filter12.FilterName = filterName12
filter12.JoinUniqueKey = True
filter12.FilterTypes = FilterTypes.JoinFilter
filter12.JoinFilterClause = filterClause12
' Add the join filter to the child article.
article2.AddMergeJoinFilter(filter12)
' Parent article.
filter23.JoinArticleName = articleName2
' Child article.
filter23.ArticleName = articleName3
filter23.FilterName = filterName23
filter23.JoinUniqueKey = True
filter23.FilterTypes = FilterTypes.JoinFilter
filter23.JoinFilterClause = filterClause23
' Add the join filter to the child article.
article3.AddMergeJoinFilter(filter23)
Catch ex As Exception
' Do error handling here and rollback the transaction.
Throw New ApplicationException( _
"The filtered articles could not be created", ex)
Finally
conn.Disconnect()
End Try