Conflict resolution for Merge Replication
Applies to: 
SQL Server
Conflicts in merge replication are resolved based on the resolver specified for each article. By default, conflicts are resolved without the need for user intervention. But conflicts can be viewed, and the outcome of the resolution can be changed, in the Microsoft Replication Conflict Viewer.
Conflict data is available in the Replication Conflict Viewer for the amount of time specified for the conflict retention period (with a default of 14 days). To set the conflict retention period, either:
Specify a retention value for the
@conflict_retentionparameter of sp_addmergepublication (Transact-SQL).Specify a value of conflict_retention for the
@propertyparameter and a retention value for the@valueparameter of sp_changemergepublication (Transact-SQL).
By default, conflict information is stored:
- At the Publisher and Subscriber if the publication compatibility level is 90RTM or higher.
- At the Publisher if the publication compatibility level is lower than 80RTM.
- At the Publisher if Subscribers are running SQL Server Compact. Conflict data cannot be stored on SQL Server Compact Subscribers.
Storage of conflict information is controlled by the conflict_logging publication property. For more information, see sp_addmergepublication (Transact-SQL) and sp_changemergepublication (Transact-SQL).
Conflicts can also be resolved interactively during synchronization using the Microsoft Interactive Resolver. The Interactive Resolver is available through the Microsoft Windows Synchronization Manager. For more information, see Synchronize a Subscription Using Windows Synchronization Manager (Windows Synchronization Manager).
Resolve conflicts
Connect to the Publisher (or Subscriber if appropriate) in Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio, and then expand the server node.
Expand the Replication folder, and then expand the Local Publications folder.
Right-click the publication for which you want to view conflicts, and then click View Conflicts.
Note
If you specified a value of 'subscriber' for the conflict_logging property, the View Conflicts menu option is not available. To view conflicts, start ConflictViewer.exe from the command prompt. By default, ConflictViewer.exe is located in the following directory: Microsoft SQL Server\100\Tools\Binn\VSShell\Common7\IDE. For a list of valid startup parameters, run ConflictViewer.exe -?.
In the Select Conflict Table dialog box, select a database, publication, and table for which to view conflicts.
In the Replication Conflict Viewer, you can:
Filter rows with the buttons to the right of the upper grid.
Select a row in the upper grid to display information on that row in the lower grid.
Select one or more rows in the upper grid, and then click Remove, which is equivalent to clicking the Submit Winner button (without making any changes to the data).
Click the properties button (...) to view more information on a column involved in a conflict.
Edit data in the Conflict winner or Conflict loser column before submitting the data (data is read-only if the column is gray).
Click Submit Winner to accept the row designated as the winner of the conflict.
Click Submit Loser to override the resolution and to propagate the value designated as the loser of the conflict to all nodes in the topology.
Select Log the details of this conflict to log conflict data to a file. To specify a location for the file, point to the View menu, and then click Options. Enter a value, or click the browse button (...), and then navigate to the appropriate file. Click OK to exit the Options dialog box.
Close the Replication Conflict Viewer.
View conflict information
When a conflict is resolved in merge replication, the data from the losing row is written to a conflict table. This conflict data can be viewed programmatically by using replication stored procedures. For more information, see Advanced Merge Replication Conflict Detection and Resolution.
At the Publisher on the publication database, execute sp_helpmergepublication. Note the values of the following columns in the result set:
centralized_conflicts - 1 indicates that conflict rows are stored at the Publisher, and 0 indicates that conflict rows are not stored at the Publisher.
decentralized_conflicts - 1 indicates that conflict rows are stored at the Subscriber, and 0 indicates that conflict rows are not stored at the Subscriber.
Note
The conflict logging behavior of a merge publication is set by using the
@conflict_loggingparameter of sp_addmergepublication. Use of the@centralized_conflictsparameter has been deprecated.
The following table describes the values of these columns based on the value specified for
@conflict_logging.@conflict_logging value centralized_conflicts decentralized_conflicts publisher 1 0 subscriber 0 1 both 1 1 At either the Publisher on the publication database or at the Subscriber on the subscription database, execute sp_helpmergearticleconflicts. Specify a value for
@publicationto only return conflict information for articles that belong to a specific publication. This returns conflict table information for articles with conflicts. Note the value of conflict_table for any articles of interest. If the value of conflict_table for an article is NULL, only delete conflicts have occurred in this article.(Optional) Review conflict rows for articles of interest. Depending on the values of centralized_conflicts and decentralized_conflicts from step 1, do one of the following:
At the Publisher on the publication database, execute sp_helpmergeconflictrows. Specify a conflict table for the article (from step 1) for
@conflict_table. (Optional) Specify a value of@publicationto restrict returned conflict information to a specific publication. This returns row data and other information for the losing row.At the Subscriber on the subscription database, execute sp_helpmergeconflictrows. Specify a conflict table for the article (from step 1) for
@conflict_table. This returns row data and other information for the losing row.
Conflict where delete failed
At the Publisher on the publication database, execute sp_helpmergepublication. Note the values of the following columns in the result set:
centralized_conflicts - 1 indicates that conflict rows are stored at the Publisher, and 0 indicates that conflict rows are not stored at the Publisher.
decentralized_conflicts - 1 indicates that conflict rows are stored at the Subscriber, and 0 indicates that conflict rows are not stored at the Subscriber.
Note
The conflict logging behavior of a merge publication is set using the
@conflict_loggingparameter of sp_addmergepublication. Use of the@centralized_conflictsparameter has been deprecated.
At either the Publisher on the publication database or at the Subscriber on the subscription database, execute sp_helpmergearticleconflicts. Specify a value for
@publicationto only return conflict table information for articles that belong to a specific publication. This returns conflict table information for articles with conflicts. Note the value of source_object for any articles of interest. If the value of conflict_table for an article is NULL, only delete conflicts have occurred in this article.(Optional) Review conflict information for delete conflicts. Depending on the values of centralized_conflicts and decentralized_conflicts from step 1, do one of the following:
At the Publisher on the publication database, execute sp_helpmergedeleteconflictrows. Specify the name of the source table (from step 1) on which the conflict occurred for
@source_object. (Optional) Specify a value of@publicationto restrict returned conflict information to a specific publication. This returns delete conflict information stored at the Publisher.At the Subscriber on the subscription database, execute sp_helpmergedeleteconflictrows. Specify the name of the source table (from step 1) on which the conflict occurred for
@source_object. (Optional) Specify a value of@publicationto restrict returned conflict information to a specific publication. This returns delete conflict information stored at the Subscriber.