Applies only to dimensions of type: string (which is the default if no type is specified)
Definition
The string_datatype parameter lets you specify that the dimension's string values are unicode characters, which is helpful for dialects requiring special filter handling. Specifically, you can specify string_datatype: unicode for Microsoft SQL Server and MySQL for fields that have filters with unicode characters. This applies to:
Microsoft SQL Server (MSSQL) for non-Latin collations types
MySQL for variable character (NVARCHAR) and fixed-number character (NCHAR) types
The string_datatype: unicode parameter applies only to dimensions of type: string (which is the default value for the type parameter).
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-14 UTC."],[],[],null,["# string_datatype\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\nUsage\n-----\n\n```\nview: view_name {\n dimension: field_name {\n string_datatype: unicode\n }\n}\n```\n\nDefinition\n----------\n\nThe `string_datatype` parameter lets you specify that the dimension's string values are unicode characters, which is helpful for dialects requiring special filter handling. Specifically, you can specify `string_datatype: unicode` for Microsoft SQL Server and MySQL for fields that have filters with unicode characters. This applies to:\n\n- Microsoft SQL Server (MSSQL) for non-Latin collations types\n- MySQL for variable character (NVARCHAR) and fixed-number character (NCHAR) types\n\nThe `string_datatype: unicode` parameter applies only to dimensions of [`type: string`](/looker/docs/2512/reference/param-dimension-filter-parameter-types#string) (which is the default value for the `type` parameter).\n\nExamples\n--------\n\n dimension: comments {\n string_datatype: unicode\n sql: ${TABLE}.comments ;;"]]
