Editing DTS Package Properties with Disconnected Edit

Data Transformation Services (DTS) Designer includes a Disconnected Edit feature that allows you to view or modify the value of any property associated with a package. For example:

• General package properties (for example, package name, description, creator name, package priority class).
  
  
• Connection properties (for example, server name, user name, and password).
  
  
• Task properties (for example, custom tasks, tasks that transform data, and data driven queries).
  
  
• Step properties, including precedence constraints.
  
  
• Global variables.

Use the Disconnected Edit feature to:

• Modify a package when the source or destination connection is unavailable. Usually, when you build a DTS package, connectivity is required as a precaution against setting properties or including components that do not work. Disconnected Edit allows you to edit a package without establishing a live connection. For example, you can modify a package created on a test system so that it works on a production system at a different site. You can use Disconnected Edit to change the connection properties of the source and destination to those of the production system, without having to actually connect to the production system.
  
  
• View and modify properties that are not exposed through the DTS Designer user interface, such as task names, step names, and connection names.

  When changing a task name with Disconnected Edit, change the TaskName property of the step associated with the task.

Caution  Because Disconnected Edit does not validate changes to property values, entering invalid data can result in package failure and unwanted effects on your system. Disconnected Edit is similar to Registry Editor. Both are powerful tools for editing properties directly, and it is recommended that both be used only by advanced users when there are no alternative methods of modifying values.

To use Disconnected Edit to modify DTS package properties