set define off in sql developer

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When or Why to use a "SET DEFINE OFF" in Oracle Database

I'm watching a Script in Oracle and I see something I don't recognize

I'm looking for documentation about "set define off" and it's literally writing "disable the parsing of commands to replace substitution variable with their values"

I don't really understand what they want to say.

Can anyone help me?

• 3 turns off prompting substitution variables. so you are not prompted to insert a value when it sees your substitution variable I believe the default is &. –  Bryan Dellinger Dec 17, 2015 at 10:58
• 1 This is a setting for the SQL client , not the database itself. And thus it's documented in the SQL*Plus manual: docs.oracle.com/cd/E11882_01/server.112/e16604/… –  user330315 Dec 17, 2015 at 11:16

2 Answers 2

By default, SQL Plus treats '&' as a special character that begins a substitution string. This can cause problems when running scripts that happen to include '&' for other reasons:

If you know your script includes (or may include) data containing '&' characters, and you do not want the substitution behaviour as above, then use set define off to switch off the behaviour while running the script:

You might want to add set define on at the end of the script to restore the default behaviour.

Here is the example:

With set define off , it took a row with &var value, prompted a user to enter a value for it and replaced &var with the entered value (in this case, X ).

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Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition by Jonathan Gennick

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The SET DEFINE command changes the prefix character used to mark substitution variables. You can use SET DEFINE to turn variable substitution off.

Is the command, which may be abbreviated SET DEF.

Disables variable substitution.

Enables variable substitution, and resets the substitution prefix character back to the default ampersand (&) character. Variable substitution is on by default.

Is the new substitution prefix character.

When you start SQL*Plus, variable substitution will be on by default, and the default prefix character is an ampersand. If you are running a script that uses ampersands in text strings, you may want to change the prefix character to something else. If your script doesn't use substitution variables, you may find it easiest to turn the feature off.

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SQL Developer

How to set define off in sql developer.

I am looking for a settings in Oracle SQL Developer 4.0 where I can set the "SET DEFINE OFF". Which in turn will stop prompting get the substitution variable?

Looking for your guidance.

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Quick Question for Oracle Set define off query

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Thanks for the question, Muhammad.

Asked: December 12, 2018 - 9:35 am UTC

Last updated: December 12, 2018 - 2:33 pm UTC

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Oracle database technical articles & geospatial data technology, set define off and ‘&’ in your sql code.

have you ever faced a problem when you executed a SQL code sent to you by a developer and the below pop window appeared ??

to avoid this just add the following starting statement:

set define off

When you have ‘&’ inside SQL Script you need to specify “ set define off ” at the beginning of the code .  It will Turn off  substitution variables .

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SET DEFINE OFF no longer working

A couple of us are using TOAD v10 while the rest of the company is using TOAD v9. I am trying to insert a row into a table and some of the string literals have an underscore (like “Mark_Adon”). I can use the SET DEFINE OFF in conjunction with my insert and everything works fine in v9 when I SelectAll and hit F9 but does not work on my v10. The message I get is “ORA-00922: missing or invalid option”.

I did some searching on my own and found a suggestion to right-clich the editor window then check or uncheck the Prompt for Substitution Variables option but it fails wither way.

SET DEFINE OFF is a script function so you need to use F5, not F9 to execute.

From: Doug Horton [ mailto:[email protected] ]

Sent: Thursday, August 01, 2013 12:38 PM

To: [email protected]

Subject: [Toad for Oracle - Discussion Forum] SET DEFINE OFF no longer working

Thread created by Doug Horton

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SET DEFINE is a SQL Plus command and must be executed with the script engine (F5). F9 executes single statements only and does not handle SQL Plus.

On 08/01/2013 12:38 PM, Doug Horton wrote:

Thread created by Doug Horton A couple of us are using TOAD v10 while the rest of the company is using TOAD v9. I am trying to insert a row into a table and some of the string literals have an underscore (like “Mark_Adon”). I can use the SET DEFINE OFF in conjunction with my insert and everything works fine in v9 when I SelectAll and hit F9 but does not work on my v10. The message I get is “ORA-00922: missing or invalid option”.

To reply, please reply-all to this email. Stop receiving emails on this subject. Or Unsubscribe from Toad for Oracle - General notifications altogether. Toad for Oracle - Discussion Forum

When running a script using F5 you are still prompted for variables. So it is not the same as SQL*Plus SET DEFINE OFF.

Please provide an example. When I run the following as script I am prompted for the first variable. The second returns ORA error. In SQL*Plus the behavior is nearly identical although it’s an SP2-0552 error that is raised instead.

select &var from dual;

SET DEFINE OFF

From: jen.davis [ mailto:[email protected] ]

Sent: Wednesday, January 29, 2014 9:59 AM

Subject: RE: [Toad for Oracle - Discussion Forum] SET DEFINE OFF no longer working

RE: SET DEFINE OFF no longer working

Reply by jen.davis

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