Troubleshooting "7645 Null or Empty Full-Text Predicate" Error in SQL Server Full-Text Search

Full-text search in SQL Server allows you to search for keywords within the text content of your database columns. This is helpful for tasks like finding specific documents, emails, or articles based on their content. The CONTAINS predicate is used within your WHERE clause to specify the search terms.

Why the Error Occurs:

The error occurs because full-text search requires a valid search term to function properly. It cannot process null or empty strings as they don't provide any information to search for.

Examples:

Here are some scenarios that can trigger this error:

1. Directly using a null variable:

SELECT * FROM MyTable
WHERE CONTAINS(Content, @searchTerm); -- @searchTerm is null

1. Using an empty string variable:

DECLARE @searchTerm NVARCHAR(MAX) = '';
SELECT * FROM MyTable
WHERE CONTAINS(Content, @searchTerm);

1. Passing an empty string as a parameter:

CREATE PROCEDURE MyProcedure (@searchTerm NVARCHAR(MAX))
AS
BEGIN
  SELECT * FROM MyTable
  WHERE CONTAINS(Content, @searchTerm);
END;

EXEC MyProcedure '';

Related Issues and Solutions: