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Posted by Andy Brown on 27 April 2017
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Automatically Annotating Expression Constraints in SSIS
So thanks to Nick from my course this week for this tip!
The Scenario
Suppose that you have an expression constraint, which will only let SSIS proceed to archive a file if you've imported at least ten rows from it:
The expression constraint shows up as fx.
Here's what this expression constraint looks like:
Assume that NumberRows is a variable which holds ... the number of rows imported.
My previous incorrect advice - use annotations
So until this week, I'd thought that this was about the only case in SSIS where it's worth creating an annotation:
You can right-click to add annotations to control flow diagrams, but the annotation won't move as you drag tasks around.
Better advice - change the property of the expression constraint
A better idea is to right-click on the line joining the tasks, to change its properties:
Right-click on the joining line, and choose Properties as shown.
Choose one of these options:
See below for the annotation options.
Your choices are:
| Option | What it will show |
|---|---|
| AsNeeded | Show the fx symbol only. |
| ConstraintName | The Name property (Must have at least 10 rows in the above example). |
| ConstraintDescription | The Description property (hidden in the above diagram). |
| ConstraintOptions | The full expression entered (see example below). |
| Never | Nothing at all. |
Here's what you'd see for a couple of choices:
|
|
| ConstraintName | ConstraintOptions |
Although the option on the right is dynamic (the package will always display the latest expression), it looks a bit messy!
Chouette!