Can I logically reorder columns in a table?

Question

If I\'m adding a column to a table in Microsoft SQL Server, can I control where the column is displayed logically in queries?

I don\'t want to mess with the physical

Answer 1

You can not do this programatically (in a safe way that is) without creating a new table.

What Enterprise Manager does when you commit a reordering is to create a new table, move the data and then delete the old table and rename the new table to the existing name.

If you want your columns in a particular order/grouping without altering their physical order, you can create a view which can be whatever you desire.