Convert column nText to nvarchar(1026)

Question

I need to change my column datatype from nText null to nvarchar(1026) null. I have used the below query(Sql server).

ALTER TABLE [Tablename] ALTER COLUMN [Columnname] nvarchar(1026) null

while executing the query, I am getting the following issue:

Cannot alter column of type NTEXT or IMAGE [ Column Name = Columnname]

Any help would be appreciated ! Thanks in advance :)

Answer 1

Your SQL statement is working fine in Sql Server 2014.

I believe you have to perform several steps.

1. Create a new column in your table

   ALTER TABLE [Tablename] ADD [NewCol] nvarchar(1026) null
   

2. Copy original column content to the new column using UPDATE and CONVERT

   UPDATE [Tablename] SET NewCol=CONVERT(nvarchar(1026), Columnname)
   

3. Drop original column

   ALTER TABLE [Tablename] drop column [Columnname]
   

4. Rename new column back to the original name

   Exec sp_rename 'Tablename.NewCol', 'Columnname', 'Column'