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If you're like just about every other SQL Server user, you've probably upgraded to SQL Server 7. If so, you might have noticed that some of your ASP sites have started behaving strangely. Specifically, you might be finding that the data that's being saved into the text fields of your database appear to be chopped off after about 255 characters.
Where did the data go?
Actually, there are a couple of possible culprits here. First, if you're presenting your data in a simple text box (<input type="text"/>), you'll find that it simply can't handle really long text strings. The easiest solution to this problem is to display your data in a <textarea> control instead.
If that doesn't seem to solve the issue, you might be facing a much more subtle problem. Namely, you might not be getting back all of your data when you query your database! So, for example, a user types 1,000 characters into a field, which you save. Then, when you query the database and present that data to the user for editing, he only sees the first couple hundred characters. If the user subsequently saves this data without noticing the problem, all those other characters will be lost!
If you're experiencing this problem, there are...