SQL Function for Prefix a string with a specified character to pad it to a desired length
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.f_pad_before(@string VARCHAR(255), @desired_length INTEGER, @pad_character CHAR(1)) RETURNS VARCHAR(255) AS BEGIN -- Prefix the required number of spaces to bulk up the string and then replace the spaces with the desired character RETURN CASE WHEN LEN(@string) < @desired_length THEN REPLACE(SPACE(@desired_length - LEN(@string)), ' ', @pad_character) + @string ELSE @string END END GO