If you have a table and you want to rename a column without using the designer, how can you do that?
First create this table
CREATE TABLE TestColumnChange(id int)
INSERT TestColumnChange VALUES(1)
SELECT * FROM TestColumnChange
As you can see the select statement returns id as the column name. you can use ALTER table ALTER Column to change the dataype of a column but not the name.
Here is what we will do, execute the statement below
EXEC sp_rename 'TestColumnChange.[id]', 'value', 'COLUMN'
Now do the select, you will see that the column name has changed
SELECT * FROM TestColumnChange
That is it, very simple
Denis has been working with SQL Server since version 6.5. Although he worked as an ASP/JSP/ColdFusion developer before the dot com bust, he has been working exclusively as a database developer/architect since 2002. In addition to English, Denis is also fluent in Croatian and Dutch, but he can curse in many other languages and dialects (just ask the SQL optimizer) He lives in Princeton, NJ with his wife and three kids.
