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N (<a href="https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms186939(v=sql.110).aspx" rel="ugc">nchar, nvarchar</a>, ntext) signifies Unicode, meaning it handles a larger number of characters then non-unicode, and each character takes two bytes in memory instead of one.<br />
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Typically this is needed when dealing with foreign language collations.<br />
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&gt;If I type a value into the filter column, for example '12', the editor changes it to N'12'. &nbsp;<br />
Curiosity overwhelms me ... if you have a column that you'd want to filter on '12', then why is it a character data type as opposed to numeric?
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N (nchar, nvarchar [https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms186939(v=sql.110).aspx], ntext) signifies Unicode, meaning it handles a larger number of characters then non-unicode, and each character takes two bytes in memory instead of one.

Typically this is needed when dealing with foreign language collations.

>If I type a value into the filter column, for example '12', the editor changes it to N'12'.  
Curiosity overwhelms me ... if you have a column that you'd want to filter on '12', then why is it a character data type as opposed to numeric?

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So, can I strip out this N and get the same results?
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So, can I strip out this N and get the same results?

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Okay, thanks for the info Jim
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I am designing a query using the Query Editor in SQL server.<br />
I am querying a table and putting a filter on a nvarchar column.<br />
If I type a value into the filter column, for example '12', the editor changes it to N'12'. &nbsp;<br />
why is it doing this? &nbsp;What does the &quot;N&quot; signify?
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I am designing a query using the Query Editor in SQL server.
I am querying a table and putting a filter on a nvarchar column.
If I type a value into the filter column, for example '12', the editor changes it to N'12'.  
why is it doing this?  What does the "N" signify?

Question regarding SQL Query Editor

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 is a suite of relational database management system (RDBMS) products providing multi-user database access functionality.Component services include integration (SSIS), reporting (SSRS), analysis (SSAS), data quality, master data, T-SQL and performance tuning. Major improvements include the  Always On technologies and support for unstructured data types.