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sql-serverxmlsqlcmd

":XML on" does not work and gives syntax error

Simply, my problem is that when I try to apply ":XML on" on the first of my query, I get a syntax error as in the below screenshot. I work on SQL Server 2012

The query and corresponding syntax error

The whole query is:

:XML ON
SET NOCOUNT ON
SELECT distinct 1 as Tag,
   NULL as Parent,  
   NULL AS [ExamTypes!1],
   NULL as [ExamType!2!ExamTypeID],  
   NULL       as [Template!3!ShortString],  
   NULL       as [Template!3!Order] 
  .
  .
  .
  (sum code)
FOR XML EXPLICIT

Any help ?

Solution

  • It seems you may be running the query from SSMS. :FOR XML is a SQLCMD command so you need to specify SQLCMD mode when the query is run from SSMS. This can be done from the query menu (Query-->SQLCMD Mode).