Dependency options

ApexSQL Doc includes a powerful proprietary dependency parser, which is able to establish a complete map of all dependencies in the database

To access the dependency features, on the Data sources and objects panel, select Dependencies

Note:

To get the most accurate dependency information possible, select Explicitly parse database for improved dependency accuracy. This will slow down the analysis process, but will return more database information

Selecting this option can significantly slow the documentation process

Visual dependency graphs

Using the analyzed dependency information, ApexSQL Doc can include a visual map of the dependencies in the database. Each object will be shown, along with the specific relationship the objects share

To include visual dependency graphs, select Include graphical dependencies. This will add a section to the documentation which will contain graphical dependency information. Note that you must first select Explicitly parse database for improved dependency accuracy

Selecting this option can significantly slow the documentation process

Dependency type

These options allow controlling which relationships are included in the generated graphs

Children only – Graphs will show only the object and its children. Parents and second generation descendants (grandchildren) will not be included
Descendents – Graphs will show the object and all descendants including children and grandchildren
Parents and children only – Graphs will show the object plus is parents and children. Descendants will not be shown
Parents and descendents – Graphs will show all objects, including parents, children, and descendants

Dependency layout

These options allow controlling how ApexSQL Doc will organize the generated dependency graphs

Circular – Related objects will be shown in a circle around the object that they are related to
Force directed – Places the most frequently used objects nearer to the center of the graph, with the least frequently used objects nearer to the outside of the graph
Hierarchical – Organizes objects based on generation, so that parents are at the top of the graph and descendants are at the bottom of the graph, so that all objects from the same generation are in the same horizontal row
Orthogonal – This option attempts to organize the object in the graph so that they are at right angles to each other. The example at the top of this page is an orthogonal graph

Scale

This option will allow controlling the scale of the generated graphs

Dependency relationship tables

In addition to including visual representations of object relationships, include dependency relationship tables

To include dependency tables in the documentation, select Include dependency (parent and children’s) lists/tables

Selecting this option can significantly slow the documentation process