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# SQL Server 2008 error message when trying to save changes in Design Mode
- URL: https://irishdotnet.dev/sql-server-2008-error-message-when-trying-to-save-changes-in-design-mode/
- Published: 2009-07-24T23:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2024-08-05T08:54:03.000Z
- Author: Richard Reddy
- Tags: SQL

I've only recently started playing around with SQL Server 2008 for a new project I'm working on. To date I've found it very easy to use, especially coming from SQL Server 2005\. One thing that I noticed early on was my inability to edit any of my tables using design mode. Anytime I wanted to change the column to allow nulls or adjust a column type I would see this error message in SQL Server:

*Saving changes is not permitted. The changes you have made require the following tables to be dropped and re-created. You have either made changes to a table that can't be re-created or enabled the option Prevent saving changes that require the table to be re-created.*

To stop this message occurring all you need to do is go to Tools and Options from the SQL Server toolbar. A popup will open on screen. Simply select the *Designers* option from the left hand navigation within the popup window and uncheck the option that says '*Prevent saving changes that require table re-creation*'. Click '*OK*' and your done. If you now try to adjust your table using the table designer in SQL Server 2008 everything should work OK for you.

![how to fix sql server 2008 error message when saving design mode changes](https://cdn.reddybrek.com/images/posts/389/how%20to%20fix%20sql%20server%202008%20error%20message%20when%20saving%20design%20mode%20changes.jpg)