Agreed. Formatting like that described in the original post is handled by the application program (Word, SSRS), not by SQL.

Okay, I just had to do some testing.

If frontloading isn't an issue, you can use the following in place of the CHECKSUM test and get similar results with fewer CPU...

How hard to you have to fling a pork chop to make it stick, Jeff? 😀

Lamprey13 (12/16/2010)

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Here is another method I've seen/used that is pretty similar to the ORDER BY NEWID(), but much faster:

SELECT TOP 10 * FROM MyTable

WHERE 0.01 >= CAST(CHECKSUM(NEWID(), SomeColumnName) & 0x7fffffff...

Here is a patch for the original code that was intended to find a small number of rows (50). It assumes that the key number N in...

KoldCoffee (3/4/2014)

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Hi Dixie Flatline, I saw this on another post and was trying to understand it so I appreciate that you explained the code more in this version. I...

Masterful? Do you need to borrow money or something, Jason?

Here is another way to improve performance while ensuring the desired number of rows. (see attachment) Whether or not you really need the performance gain depends on...

TomThomson (2/25/2014)[/b]

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The Dixie Flatline (2/25/2014)

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rodjkidd (2/25/2014)

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Steve Jones - SSC Editor (2/24/2014)

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I went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland a few weeks ago. It was pretty neat...

rodjkidd (2/25/2014)

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Steve Jones - SSC Editor (2/24/2014)

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I went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland a few weeks ago. It was pretty neat to see the history...

Tom Bakerman (2/24/2014)

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One big difference is that with sp_ExecuteSQL you can define parameters external to the @SomeSQLStatement variable, thereby reusing the dynamic...

I think that's one of the worst...

Finally?

This comes as a surprise why exactly?

omnipotence

L' Eomot Inversé (2/11/2014)

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Revenant (2/11/2014)

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Ed Wagner (2/11/2014)

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Kurt W. Zimmerman (2/11/2014)

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jcrawf02 (2/11/2014)

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Ed Wagner (2/11/2014)

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BWFC (2/11/2014)

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SQLRNNR (2/11/2014)

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Ed Wagner (2/11/2014)

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BWFC (2/11/2014)

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Ed Wagner (2/11/2014)

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SQLRNNR (2/10/2014)

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Ed Wagner (2/10/2014)

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SQLRNNR (2/10/2014)

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Stuart Davies (2/10/2014)

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Ed Wagner (2/10/2014)

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crookj (2/10/2014)

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Stuart Davies...