Retrieve the maximum length of a VARCHAR column in SQL Server

Question

I want to find the longest VARCHAR in a specific column of a SQL Server table.

Here\'s an example:

ID = INT IDENTITY
DESC = VARCHAR(5000)

I         


        

Answer 1

For sql server (SSMS)

select MAX(LEN(ColumnName)) from table_name

This will returns number of characters.

 select MAX(DATALENGTH(ColumnName)) from table_name

This will returns number of bytes used/required.

IF some one use varchar then use DATALENGTH.More details