Question:
I’m trying to format the output of the select query that I have done. The fields in the database are too large to parse easily, so they need to be minimized. Is there a way to read the field into a smaller space so it prints out less with less blanks?

Answer:
Assuming you are using SQL Server, you have several commands that can help you. LTRIM and RTRIM remove leading and trailing blanks, respectively. The convert function can always be used to shorten a long item; for example, convert(char(length desired), @variable or column name) will only select the desired length. If the column is already in character form, you can also use the substring function.