The change tracking feature is a way to version control MySQL table structure and data.

Since release 3.3.x a tracking mechanism is available. It helps you to track every SQL command which is executed by phpMyAdmin. The mechanism supports logging of data manipulation and data definition statements. After enabling it you can create versions of tables.

The creation of a version has two effects:

• phpMyAdmin saves a snapshot of the table, including structure and indexes.
• phpMyAdmin logs all commands which change the structure and/or data of the table and links these commands with the version number.

Of course you can view the tracked changes. On the Tracking page a complete report is available for every version. For the report you can use filters, for example you can get a list of statements within a date range. When you want to filter usernames you can enter * for all names or you enter a list of names separated by ','. In addition you can export the (filtered) report to a file or to a temporary database.

To allow the usage of this functionality:

• set up phpMyAdmin configuration storage
• put the table name in [[/Config#tracking|$cfg['Servers'][$i]['tracking']]] (default: pma__tracking)

Whether the tracking mechanism creates versions for tables and views automatically. Default value is false.

If this is set to true and you create a table or view with

• CREATE TABLE ...
• CREATE VIEW ...

and no version exists for it, the mechanism will create a version for you automatically.