create table temptest
(lid varchar(10), dat varchar(20))

insert into temptest (lid,dat) values ('11','first')
insert into temptest (lid,dat) values ('11','second')
insert into temptest (lid,dat) values ('11','third')

insert into temptest (lid,dat) values ('12','box')
insert into temptest (lid,dat) values ('12','circle')
insert into temptest (lid,dat) values ('12','trap')

insert into temptest (lid,dat) values ('14','star')
insert into temptest (lid,dat) values ('14','planet')


--I want the results to be
lid, dat1, dat2, dat3
11,first,second,third
12, box, circle, trap
14, star, planet, <blank>

This will do most of what you ask. You don't have a field that supports a sort consistent with your expected output, so I've used the one that comes closest.

;
WITH CTE AS
(
    SELECT *, ROW_NUMBER() OVER(PARTITION BY lid ORDER BY dat) AS rn
    FROM #temptest
)

SELECT lid,
    MAX(CASE WHEN rn = 1 THEN dat END) AS dat1,
    MAX(CASE WHEN rn = 2 THEN dat END) AS dat2,
    MAX(CASE WHEN rn = 3 THEN dat END) AS dat3
FROM CTE
GROUP BY lid

Drew

PS: I could add a CASE expression to force your data into the right order, but that is unlikely to transfer well to your real data.

J. Drew Allen
Business Intelligence Analyst
Philadelphia, PA

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How do you define which value goes into dat1, which one into dat2 and which one into dat3?