Naming Conventions for Microsoft SQL Server

For general information, see SAS Names and Support for DBMS Names.

The PRESERVE_TAB_NAMES= and PRESERVE_COL_NAMES= options determine how this interface handles case sensitivity, spaces, and special characters. (For information about these options, see LIBNAME Statement for Relational Databases.) Microsoft SQL Server is not case sensitive, so all names default to mixed case.

Microsoft SQL Server supports table names and column names that contain up to 32 characters. If DBMS column names are longer than 32 characters, SAS truncates them to 32 characters. If truncating a column name would result in identical names, SAS generates a unique name by replacing the last character with a number. DBMS table names must be 32 characters or less. SAS does not truncate a longer name. If you already have a table name that is greater than 32 characters, it is recommended that you create a table view.

Last updated: February 3, 2026