FIX: Unicode Server Message Changes to "????" on Message Text When the Text is Saved by SEM (308931)

SYMPTOMS

If you create, edit or save a SQL Server message that is a unicode string through the SQL Server Enterprise Manager (SEM), the server message does not save as unicode. If you open the server message, the message text may change to "????".

You can open the SQL Server message in SQL Server Enterprise Manager or Query Analyzer.

CAUSE

SQL Server Enterprise Manager does not supply the "N" prior to the unicode string during the insert operation.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Microsoft SQL Server 2000. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

290211 INF: How to Obtain the Latest SQL Server 2000 Service Pack

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem create a server message by using the SQL Query Analyzer. Use the prefix character "N" explicitly to identify the string as unicode.

For example, you can use the following code to create a unicode server message with Query Analyzer:

 
exec sp_addmessage 50001, 10, N'<unicode message>'

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in Microsoft SQL Server 2000. This problem was first corrected in Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 2.

MORE INFORMATION

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

You can use the following steps to reproduce the problem:

Open the SQL Server Enterprise Manager.
Right-click server, click All Tasks, and then click Manage SQL Server Messages.
Click the Message tab, and then click New.
In the Message Text text box, type the message text in Unicode.
Click OK.
On the Search tab. In the Error number text box type the newly created message number.
Click Find. The newly created message text shows "????".