I am using replication between SQL Server 2008R2 (publisher, push replication) and SQL Server 2012. The subscriber's tables are dropped and recreated EVERY TIME the replication process runs. I cannot change this in the replication article window in SQL Server Management Studio (2012). Looking at the properties of table articles on the publication, I see that "Action if name is in use" is set to "Drop existing object and create a new one". I have tried to change it to "keep existing object unchanged" but it reverts back immediately after I click OK and re-open the window.
Aside from when a table's structure has changed, I do not ever want transactional replication to drop the subscriber table. I want transactional replication to transmit inserts/updates/and deletes of rows that have changed since the previous run of replication. My replication typically runs on demand after data processing batches have been completed on the 2008R2 -- once an hour or once a day, depending on the publication.
How can I correct this behavior? Is this a bug?
I believe it might be related to using 2008R2 as the publisher. (All instances are Enterprise edition).