DROP EXTERNAL TABLE (Transact-SQL)

Applies to: 👁 Image
SQL Server 2016 (13.x) and later versions 👁 Image
Azure SQL Database 👁 Image
Azure SQL Managed Instance 👁 Image
Azure Synapse Analytics 👁 Image
Analytics Platform System (PDW) 👁 Image
Warehouse in Microsoft Fabric

Removes an external table from a database, but doesn't delete the external data.

👁 Image
Transact-SQL syntax conventions

Syntax

DROP EXTERNAL TABLE { database_name.schema_name.table_name | schema_name.table_name | table_name }
[;] 

Arguments

[ database_name . [schema_name] . | schema_name . ] table_name
The one- to three-part name of the external table to remove. The table name can optionally include the schema, or the database and schema.

Permissions

Requires:

• ALTER permission on the schema to which the table belongs.
• ALTER ANY EXTERNAL DATA SOURCE
• ALTER ANY EXTERNAL FILE FORMAT

Remarks

Dropping an external table removes all table-related metadata. It doesn't delete the external data.

Examples

A. Use basic syntax

DROP EXTERNAL TABLE SalesPerson; 
DROP EXTERNAL TABLE dbo.SalesPerson; 
DROP EXTERNAL TABLE EasternDivision.dbo.SalesPerson; 

B. Drop an external table from the current database

The following example removes the ProductVendor1 table, its data, indexes, and any dependent views from the current database.

DROP EXTERNAL TABLE ProductVendor1; 

C. Drop a table from another database

The following example drops the SalesPerson table in the EasternDivision database.

DROP EXTERNAL TABLE EasternDivision.dbo.SalesPerson; 

Related content

• CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE (Transact-SQL)