How do I disable errors on string truncation in SQL Server?

Question

How can I tell SQL Server not to raise an error if I insert or update a string longer than the size of the field - I would like silent truncation in this instance.

Answer 1

set ANSI WARNINGS to OFF

example

create table bla(id varchar(2))
go

insert bla values ('123') --fails


set ANSI_WARNINGS  OFF

insert bla values ('123') --succeeds

Answer 2

Try casting the variable to the exact type and length before inserting it. That might do the trick. Casting (and converting) are much more flexible. :)