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This group of DDL SQL statements allows database administrators to manage views. Database administrators can create, modify, drop, and export views. You can view information about views using the sys.views system catalog table. For information on database components, see the pages on Databases, Schemas, Tables, and Indexes.

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CREATE VIEW

CREATE VIEW creates a new view in the current database or replaces an existing view. For view creation, the name of the view must be distinct from the name of any existing views in the database. To create a view, you must have both the CREATE VIEW privilege for the current database and the SELECT privilege on all directly referenced tables and views in the query. You must have DROP privileges on the view. You also must have CREATE VIEW privileges on the database. Syntax
SQL
CREATE [ OR REPLACE ] VIEW [ IF NOT EXISTS ] view_name AS query
ParameterTypeDescription
view_namestringA distinct identifier used to name the view.
querystringA SELECT query that defines the data from a table used to create the view.
Example This example creates an existing view in the current database and schema named option_trades.
SQL
CREATE VIEW option_trades
    AS SELECT * FROM trades WHERE type = 'OPTIONS';

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DROP VIEW

DROP VIEW removes one or more existing views in the current database. To remove a view, you must have the DROP VIEW privilege for the view. Syntax
SQL
DROP VIEW [ IF EXISTS ] view_name [, ...]
ParameterTypeDescription
view_namestringThe identifier of the view to drop.
You can drop multiple views by specifying additional view names and separating each with commas.
Example This example drops an existing view in the current database and schema named star_employees.
SQL
DROP VIEW star_employees;
This example drops two views named star_employees and bad_employees.
SQL
DROP VIEW star_employees, bad_employees;

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ALTER VIEW RENAME

ALTER VIEW RENAME renames an existing view. Required Privileges To rename a view, you must have the ALTER VIEW privilege for the view. The System requires these privileges if this statement includes a change to the schema:
  • VIEW privilege on the current schema of the view
  • VIEW VIEW and CREATE VIEW privileges on the target schema (if the schema already exists)
  • CREATE VIEW privilege on the database (if the schema does not exist)
Syntax
SQL
ALTER VIEW [ IF EXISTS ] old_view_name RENAME TO new_view_name
ParameterTypeDescription
old_view_namestringThe identifier of the view to rename.
new_view_namestringThe new name for the specified view.
Examples This example renames an existing view in the current database and schema named star_employees to star_mid_west_employees.
SQL
ALTER VIEW star_employees RENAME TO star_mid_west_employees;
This example renames an existing view in the current database named us.star_employees to us.star_mid_west_employees.
SQL
ALTER VIEW us.star_employees RENAME TO us.star_mid_west_employees;

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ALTER VIEW AS

ALTER VIEW AS modifies an inner query of the existing view. To modify the query for an existing view, you must be a system-level user or have the ALTER VIEW privilege for the view. You must also have the SELECT privilege on all referenced tables and views in the new query. Syntax
SQL
ALTER VIEW [ IF EXISTS ] view_name AS query
ParameterTypeDescription
view_namestringThe identifier for the view to alter.
querystringA SELECT query that defines the new data from a table used to alter the view.
Example This example alters a view in the current database and schema named star_employees.
SQL
ALTER VIEW star_employees AS SELECT * FROM sys.tables;

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EXPORT VIEW

EXPORT VIEW shows the CREATE VIEW statement for an existing view in the current database. To export a view, the logged-in user must be a system-level user or have the READ VIEW right for the view. Syntax
SQL
EXPORT VIEW view_name
ParameterTypeDescription
view_namestringThe identifier for the view to export.
Example This example exports an existing view in the current database and schema named students.
SQL
EXPORT VIEW students;
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Last modified on May 27, 2026