Stripping the first three characters off a column
I just accidentally updated my entire database to include 3 characters in front of the product code. I was going to try to do a 'Set' statement utilizing the mid string function to remove the first three characters but Mid is not recognized in Query Analyzer. How can I accomplish this?
Because you said "Query Analyzer," I will assume your database is Microsoft SQL/Server. MID is a Microsoft Access function. Use the SUBSTRING function in SQL/Server.
update yourTable set productcode = substring(productcode,4)
Ordinarily, you will see SUBSTRING expressions with three parameters --
substring(string, startpos [, length])
When length is omitted, the substring extends to the end of the string.
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