Edit

Rename Views

  • Article

Applies to: SQL Server Azure SQL Database Not supported. Azure Synapse Analytics Analytics Platform System (PDW)

You can rename a view in SQL Server by using SQL Server Management Studio or Transact-SQL.

Warning

If you rename a view, code and applications that depend on the view may fail. These include other views, queries, stored procedures, user-defined functions, and client applications. Note that these failures will cascade.

Prerequisites

  1. Obtain a list of all dependencies on the view. Any objects, scripts, or applications that reference the view must be modified to reflect the new name of the view. For more information, see Get Information About a View.
  2. We recommend that you drop the view and recreate it with a new name instead of renaming the view. By recreating the view, you update the dependency information for the objects that are referenced in the view.
    1. Dropping and re-creating a view will remove any granular SQL permissions assigned to the view. If any granular SQL permissions are assigned to the view, you will need to GRANT the permissions to the view again after it's re-created. To retrieve the granular permissions granted on an object before it's dropped, see the examples in sys.database_permissions (Transact-SQL). To grant permissions, see Grant a Permission to a Principal.

Permissions

Requires ALTER permission on SCHEMA or CONTROL permission on OBJECT is required, and CREATE VIEW permission in the database.

Use SQL Server Management Studio

Rename a view

  1. In Object Explorer, expand the database that contains the view you wish to rename and then expand the View folder.

  2. Right-click the view you wish to rename and select Rename.

  3. Enter the view's new name.

Use Transact-SQL

While you can use sp_rename to change the name of the view, we recommend that you delete the existing view, and then re-create it with the new name.

When you rename a stored procedure, function, view, or trigger with sp_rename, the name of the corresponding object doesn't change in the definition column of the sys.sql_modules catalog view. This can lead to future confusion. Therefore, we don't recommend using sp_rename to rename objects. Instead, drop and re-create the object with its new name.

For example:

DROP VIEW [dbo].[vOrders];
GO

CREATE VIEW [dbo].[vOrders]
AS 
<select_statement>
GO

For more information, see CREATE VIEW (Transact-SQL) and DROP VIEW (Transact-SQL).

Follow up: after renaming a view

  1. Ensure that all objects, scripts, and applications that reference the view's old name now use the new name.
  2. Dropping and re-creating a view will remove any granular SQL permissions assigned to the view. If any granular SQL permissions are assigned to the view, you'll need to GRANT the permissions to the view again when it's re-created. To retrieve the granular permissions granted on an object before it's dropped, see the examples in sys.database_permissions (Transact-SQL). To grant permissions, see Grant a Permission to a Principal.