Special Characters in the EQuIS Database

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

Overall, characters best avoided in database fields if required by reporting are:

•the 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

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

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 the scenarios in which special characters or certain phrases can cause issues. With new releases, documentation will be updated to include additional such scenarios as encountered.

Special Character/ Text (Name)	XY Charts	Crosstab Reports	Reports** and Forms	Filters	Action Levels	Other
_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
' (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. -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
^ (carat)
, (comma)
# (number sign)				Use Custom Filter
[ (open square bracket)				Use Custom Filter
. (period)						If used in SDG, the SDG Status tab in DQM In Process Events is blank.
" (straight double quote)					Shows a message but does not prevent saving
: (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.

* 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.