Reverse Engineering PowerDesigner 16.5 - SQLServer 2012 tables Extended Properties

[Former Member]

Hello all,

Sorry in advance if this basic question has already been asked. I have had a look at the forums first, as well as the documentation, without finding the answer I am looking for.

I am new to PowerDesigner 16.5, currently testing the reverse engineering function with a SQL Server 2012 database

I am trying to find how to import the table extended properties that were applied to the sql server tables (sp_addextendedproperties)

If it has already been imported with the reverse engineering default options, I can't see it anywhere in the resulting diagram.

Thank you in advance for your help

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Hi all,

I have finally been able to find where the problem was.

If you  perform a reverse engineering of the MSSQL  'AdventureWorks' demo database, which tables have plenty of extended properties, the extended property value is available in the diagram in : table properties->General->Comments Section (picture below)

My understanding is you need to name your SQL Server  table Extended Property : 'MS_Description',  and define only one entry. That way, the PowerDesigner Reverse enginering function will  interpret it correctly.

If your SQL Server table holds multiple extended properties, or if you have only one, named differently than the standard 'MS_Description', it won't be interpreted by PowerDesigner.

There may be a way to import multiple extended properties with any name you want, but I don't know how to configure PowerDesigner to do so.

Anyway, this is the answer I was looking for, and I will recommend my customer to strictly follow the standard rules Microsoft implemented in SQL Server when they document their tables using extended properties.

Thanks again for your answers and time 🙂