Character Support: Why We Use varchar Instead of nvarchar

Overview

Some schools have asked whether Synergetic can store Māori characters that use macrons such as ā, ē, ī, ō, and ū. At present, Synergetic uses SQL Server varchar fields for text storage. The varchar data type supports non‑Unicode characters only. This means that full Māori orthography and other Unicode‑only characters cannot be stored.

This article explains why Synergetic uses varchar, what character sets are supported, and the options available to schools.

varchar vs nvarchar

varchar

• Stores non‑Unicode text

• Uses single‑byte encoding

• Limited to the characters available in the database code page

• Cannot store Māori macrons or many extended characters

nvarchar

• Stores Unicode text

• Uses two bytes per character

• Supports a wide range of international scripts and accented characters, including Māori macrons

What Characters Synergetic Supports

Because Synergetic uses varchar fields, supported characters include:

• Standard English alphabet

• Basic punctuation

• Numbers

• Some Western European accented characters

Characters not supported include:

• Māori macrons (ā, ē, ī, ō, ū)

• Many Pasifika language characters

• Asian scripts such as Chinese, Japanese, and Korean

• Emoji

• Extended symbols outside the basic Latin range

Unsupported characters may be rejected, replaced with a question mark, or saved incorrectly.

Why Synergetic Does Not Use nvarchar

Migrating Synergetic from varchar to nvarchar affects the entire platform. The change is not limited to individual database columns. It influences:

Database structure

Thousands of fields would need to be modified. Unicode storage requires schema redesign, testing, and data migration.

Application layers

All Synergetic modules, user interfaces, APIs, and reporting tools would need to handle Unicode correctly.

Integrations

Many schools exchange data with external systems that may not support Unicode. Changing text storage could break existing integrations.

Performance and storage

Unicode requires increased storage. Large tables and high‑volume processes would be impacted.

Legacy behaviour

Some older components in Synergetic rely on the behaviour of non‑Unicode fields.

For these reasons, Synergetic continues to use varchar across the platform.

Guidance for Schools Using Māori Names

Synergetic users can enter Māori names, but macrons must be omitted. For example:

• Hōne becomes Hone

• Tāmati becomes Tamati

Schools that need to preserve the correct macron spelling may store the macron version in external documents such as PDFs, enrolment forms, or attachments.

Future Unicode Support

Synergetic recognises the importance of correct name representation. Unicode support would require a major architecture upgrade and is being considered as part of long‑term platform planning. There is no scheduled timeframe for this change at present.

Summary

• Synergetic uses varchar, which supports non‑Unicode characters only.

• Māori macrons and other Unicode characters cannot be stored.

• Converting the platform to Unicode requires significant architectural changes.

• Schools should enter names without macrons when using Synergetic.