Renaming a Column

See Also

The name of a column in a table in your database diagram shows the name of the column as it is stored in the database. You can rename a column directly in your table in the database diagram and the database will be updated with the new name when you save the table or diagram.

Column names are stored in the case (uppercase or lowercase) in which they appear in your diagram. They cannot contain blank spaces.

Warning   Because renaming a column may affect triggers, stored procedures, and constraints, it’s recommended that you rename a column before you create these other objects. For more information about these database objects, see Working with Database Objects.

To rename a column

1. In your database diagram, select the table whose column you want to rename.
   
   
2. If only the table name is shown in the database diagram, right-click the table and select Column Properties, Column Names, or Keys from the shortcut menu.
   
   
3. In the cell that shows the column name you want to change, type a new column name. Make sure that it doesn’t duplicate another column name in the same table.

The column is renamed in your table or diagram as soon as you exit the cell that shows the column name. The column is renamed in your database when you save the table or diagram.