Special Characters in the EQuIS Database

EQuIS databases use the ASCII and Extended ASCII character sets. A database collation can also be changed.

If database fields are required for reporting, the following characters should not be used in the field values:

•Straight single quote (') – Can cause errors in certain third-party tools or programs due to the need for special handling within SQL commands and Excel.

•Pipe (|) – Used in the equis.pipe_filter scalar-valued function to separate multiple selections within a single report parameter for reports.

•Semi-colon (;) – Used as a special character in SQL code.

Note: The database will convert Unicode character "U+2010 : HYPHEN" to "U+002D : HYPHEN-MINUS" on commits, unless the field containing that character is nvarchar. Reloading (i.e., updating via EDD) that data could then fail; if so, change the EDD hyphens to use Unicode character "U+002D : HYPHEN-MINUS" instead of "U+2010 : HYPHEN".

For information on special characters allowed within logins, see New User Registration for EQuIS Enterprise users and Launch Collect Mobile for EQuIS Collect users.

The table below summarizes some scenarios in which special characters or certain phrases can cause issues. The table will be updated to include additional such scenarios as encountered.

Special Character/ Text (Name)	XY Charts	Crosstab Reports	Reports** and Forms	Filters	Action Levels	DQM	Access	Enterprise	SPM
_WARNING					Do not prepend to Action Level name (already in use).
SQL commands (e.g., Update, Delete)			Do not use in User Report names.		See Create New Action Level page	Cannot save DQM Events with unsafe SQL in DT_SDG.
' (straight single quote)	See Known Issue *		If used within parameters, report may fail with "Syntax error: Missing operand after '[string]' operator" message.			Cannot save DQM Events with ' in SYS_SAMPLE_CODE.	An Enterprise username containing this character must use the Launch EQuIS Professional option from Enterprise to log into EQuIS Professional. The user will not be able to log into EQuIS Collect.	Unable to upload EDDs with ' in the file name via the Enterprise EDP EDD Upload widget.
\| (pipe)		See Editing EDDs page	Used as a report parameter separator.					If used in RT_GROUP.GROUP_CODE, SPM Resource Groups page in Enterprise will not load.
^ (carat)
, (comma)						Cannot save DQM Events with comma in CAS_RN.
# (number sign)				Use Custom Filter
[ (open square bracket)				Use Custom Filter
. (period)						Cannot save DQM Events with a period in DT_SDG Cannot save DQM Events with period in CAS_RN.		Unable to upload .zip EDDs with more than two periods in the file name via the Enterprise EDP EDD Upload widget.
" (straight double quote)					Shows a message but does not prevent saving.
/ (forward slash)								If used in RT_GROUP.GROUP_CODE, SPM Resource Groups page in Enterprise will not load.
: (colon) or @ (at symbol)			Anything following the : or @ symbols will be treated as a parameter in the EQuIS SQL Form or in custom SQL reports.				An Enterprise username containing this character must use the Launch EQuIS Professional option from Enterprise to log into EQuIS Professional. The user will not be able to log into EQuIS Collect.
& (ampersand)							Should not be used in the password for the service account.
superscripts									EQuIS does not differentiate between m3 and m3. If loaded to RT_UNIT, opening an SPM plan will error with “Failed to enable constraints. One or more rows contain values violating non-null, unique, or foreign-key constraints.”
(space)							Enterprise users with a space in the username cannot make changes in the User Profile Editor.

* Use legacy TeeChart XY Charts instead by holding down Shift when clicking XY Charts.

** May be report-specific; universally-known special character issues are provided here, while specific report pages may detail further limitations, if applicable.