In my book there are a lot of walkthroughs that depend on my sample database(s). Rather than providing the entire database files, I have been providing scripts for readers to create the databases and data themselves.

SQL Server 2008's SSMS has a script generation wizard that lets you create the database objects (tables, views, etc) as well as the data. It also gives you the ability to target SQL Server 2008 or 2005, which I need to do. But there's a big problem. After I have run the wizard, I find that the script is missing tables. The wizard's checklist shows that they were all created, but the sql for creating a number of the tables is nowhere to be found in the script.

When running the script, it fails when objects depending on those tables are created. If not for this failure, there is no other indication that anything else is wrong (e.g., that required tables were not built).

I have not been able to determine why this is happening. The databases that this has happened with are not even that large.

What I have done to get around it is to build the script in two steps. I run the wizard and create ONLY the tables and their data. Then I run the wizard a second time and create the other objects (views, stored procs, functions, ect). When I have both scripts, I then add the text of the 2nd script to the end of the first.

Additionally, the actual database creation is a separate wizard altogether so I have to add these two to the end of the first script which creates the database.

I have attempted to do web searches on this problem but have not been able to find anything. Generally only instructions for creating scripts come up.

I'm sure I could do this more eaily with Red-Gate's SQLPackager, but I was determined to make SSMS do it's job as advertised.