How to: Delete an Article (Replication Transact-SQL Programming)

Articles can be deleted programmatically using replication stored procedures. The stored procedures that you use depend on the type of publication to which the article belongs. For information about the conditions under which articles can be dropped and whether dropping an article requires a new snapshot or the reinitialization of subscriptions, see Adding Articles to and Dropping Articles from Existing Publications.

To delete an article from a snapshot or transactional publication

  1. Execute sp_droparticle (Transact-SQL) to delete an article, specified by @article, from a publication, specified by @publication. Specify a value of 1 for @force_invalidate_snapshot.

  2. (Optional) To remove the published object from the database entirely, execute the DROP <objectname> command at the Publisher on the publication database.

To delete an article from a merge publication

  1. Execute sp_dropmergearticle (Transact-SQL) to delete an article, specified by @article, from a publication, specified by @publication. If necessary, specify a value of 1 for @force_invalidate_snapshot and a value of 1 for @force_reinit_subscription.

  2. (Optional) To remove the published object from the database entirely, execute the DROP <objectname> command at the Publisher on the publication database.

Example

The following example deletes an article from a transactional publication. Because this change invalidates the existing snapshot, a value of 1 is specified for the @force_invalidate_snapshot parameter.

DECLARE @publication AS sysname;
DECLARE @article AS sysname;
SET @publication = N'AdvWorksProductTran'; 
SET @article = N'Product'; 

-- Drop the transactional article.
USE [AdventureWorks]
EXEC sp_droparticle 
  @publication = @publication, 
  @article = @article,
  @force_invalidate_snapshot = 1;
GO

The following example deletes two articles from a merge publication. Because these changes invalidate the existing snapshot, a value of 1 is specified for the @force_invalidate_snapshot parameter.

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()';

-- Drop the merge join filter between SalesOrderHeader and SalesOrderDetail.
EXEC sp_dropmergefilter 
  @publication = @publication, 
  @article = @table3, 
  @filtername = N'SalesOrderDetail_SalesOrderHeader', 
  @force_invalidate_snapshot = 1, 
  @force_reinit_subscription = 1;

-- Drops the merge join filter between Employee and SalesOrderHeader.
EXEC sp_dropmergefilter 
  @publication = @publication, 
  @article = @table2, 
  @filtername = N'SalesOrderHeader_Employee', 
  @force_invalidate_snapshot = 1, 
  @force_reinit_subscription = 1;

-- Drops the article for the SalesOrderDetail table.
EXEC sp_dropmergearticle 
  @publication = @publication, 
  @article = @table3,
  @force_invalidate_snapshot = 1, 
  @force_reinit_subscription = 1;

-- Drops the article for the SalesOrderHeader table.
EXEC sp_dropmergearticle 
  @publication = @publication, 
  @article = @table2, 
  @force_invalidate_snapshot = 1, 
  @force_reinit_subscription = 1;

-- Drops the article for the Employee table.
EXEC sp_dropmergearticle 
  @publication = @publication, 
  @article = @table1,
  @force_invalidate_snapshot = 1, 
  @force_reinit_subscription = 1;
GO

DECLARE @publication AS sysname;
DECLARE @article1 AS sysname;
DECLARE @article2 AS sysname;
SET @publication = N'AdvWorksSalesOrdersMerge';
SET @article1 = N'SalesOrderDetail'; 
SET @article2 = N'SalesOrderHeader'; 

-- Remove articles from a merge publication.
USE [AdventureWorks]
EXEC sp_dropmergearticle 
  @publication = @publication, 
  @article = @article1,
  @force_invalidate_snapshot = 1;
EXEC sp_dropmergearticle 
  @publication = @publication, 
  @article = @article2,
  @force_invalidate_snapshot = 1;
GO