• I would device the import process so that the columns are always there, but if they are not in the spreadsheet they would be NULL.

    A table is supposed to model a distinct entity with a distinct set of attributes, and attempts to go beyond that model works against the idea of a relational database and will put you in trouble.

    There are ways to handle the current situation, but they are kludgy. Better to get control over the import process.

    [font="Times New Roman"]Erland Sommarskog, SQL Server MVP, www.sommarskog.se[/font]