<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> Navigation:  Professional > Troubleshooting > Reporting Errors > Error Converting Data Type Varchar to Float (Professional)

Affected Software/Reports/DLL(s): EQuIS Professional

Affected Software Version: N/A

Symptoms: The following error can occur when running a report through EQuIS Professional:

 

 

Cause/Details: This error is caused by non-numeric data in a field that the report expects to be numeric. Fields with the varchar data type are designed to hold any character type, but for purposes of functions such as unit conversions or action level comparisons, numeric data is required.

 

Resolution/Workaround: Identify this data and alter it so that either:

 

a.The data is numeric, or

b.the report will ignore this data (such as by setting the data to be non-reportable in the REPORTABLE_YN field).

 

If the data already appears to be numeric, extra spaces or carriage breaks may be present in the field. Clear the field and reenter the data manually to eliminate these additional characters.

 

Views in the EQuIS Database can help identify data that may lead to this error:

 

•VW_COORD_NON_NUMERIC

•VW_RESULT_NON_NUMERIC (which checks DT_RESULT fields RESULT_TEXT, REPORTING_DETECTION_LIMIT, METHOD_DETECTION_LIMIT, AND QUANTITATION_LIMIT)

•VW_LOCATION, comparing to

oDT_COORDINATE for any missing locations, values, or an error message

othe VW_LOCATION Toolbar for the coordinate type and identifier settings

 

The _NON_NUMERIC views will show the records in DT_COORDINATE and DT_RESULT, respectively, where non-numeric data has been found. Note that certain data (e.g. latitude and longitude coordinates in non-decimal degrees or results for color) might be intended to stay non-numeric.

 

If neither VW_COORD_NON_NUMERIC nor VW_RESULT_NON_NUMERIC show any records, check DT_COORDINATE.ELEV. If a database administrator has SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) access, have them try the following query that should identify any DT_COORDINATE records where the ELEV field contains non-numeric data.

 

SELECT * from DT_COORDINATE where elev is not null and try_cast(elev as float) is null