How do I check if a SQL Server text column is empty?

Solution 1:

where datalength(mytextfield)=0

Solution 2:

ISNULL(
case textcolum1
    WHEN '' THEN NULL
    ELSE textcolum1
END 
,textcolum2) textcolum1

Solution 3:

Actually, you just have to use the LIKE operator.

SELECT * FROM mytable WHERE mytextfield LIKE ''

Solution 4:

To get only empty values (and not null values):

SELECT * FROM myTable WHERE myColumn = ''

To get both null and empty values:

SELECT * FROM myTable WHERE myColumn IS NULL OR myColumn = ''

To get only null values:

SELECT * FROM myTable WHERE myColumn IS NULL

To get values other than null and empty:

SELECT * FROM myTable WHERE myColumn <> ''

And remember use LIKE phrases only when necessary because they will degrade performance compared to other types of searches.