Modify Data Through a View
Applies to:
SQL Server
Azure SQL Database
Azure SQL Managed Instance
Azure Synapse Analytics
Analytics Platform System (PDW)
You can modify the data of an underlying base table in SQL Server by using SQL Server Management Studio or Transact-SQL.
Before You Begin
Limitations and Restrictions
- See the section 'Updatable Views' in CREATE VIEW (Transact-SQL).
Permissions
Requires UPDATE, INSERT, or DELETE permissions on the target table, depending on the action being performed.
Using SQL Server Management Studio
To modify table data through a view
In Object Explorer, expand the database that contains the view and then expand Views.
Right-click the view and select Edit Top 200 Rows.
You may need to modify the SELECT statement in the SQL pane to return the rows to be modified.
In the Results pane, locate the row to be changed or deleted. To delete the row, right-click the row and select Delete. To change data in one or more columns, modify the data in the column.
Important
You cannot delete a row if the view references more than one base table. You can only update columns that belong to a single base table.
To insert a row, scroll down to the end of the rows and insert the new values.
Important
You cannot insert a row if the view references more than one base table.
Using Transact-SQL
To update table data through a view
In Object Explorer, connect to an instance of Database Engine.
On the Standard bar, click New Query.
Copy and paste the following example into the query window and click Execute. This example changes the value in the
StartDate
andEndDate
columns for a specific employee by referencing columns in the viewHumanResources.vEmployeeDepartmentHistory
. This view returns values from two tables. This statement succeeds because the columns being modified are from only one of the base tables.USE AdventureWorks2022; GO UPDATE HumanResources.vEmployeeDepartmentHistory SET StartDate = '20110203', EndDate = GETDATE() WHERE LastName = N'Smith' AND FirstName = 'Samantha'; GO
For more information, see UPDATE (Transact-SQL).
To insert table data through a view
In Object Explorer, connect to an instance of Database Engine.
On the Standard bar, click New Query.
Copy and paste the following example into the query window and click Execute. The example inserts a new row into the base table
HumanResouces.Department
by specifying the relevant columns from the viewHumanResources.vEmployeeDepartmentHistory
. The statement succeeds because only columns from a single base table are specified and the other columns in the base table have default values.USE AdventureWorks2022; GO INSERT INTO HumanResources.vEmployeeDepartmentHistory (Department, GroupName) VALUES ('MyDepartment', 'MyGroup'); GO
For more information, see INSERT (Transact-SQL).