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UpdateData

Updates existing rows in a data extension and returns the number of rows updated. The second argument is the search-pair count. Runtime-proven on a live Marketing Cloud Engagement CloudPage.

Runtime verified Test scripts included

Syntax

UpdateData(dataExt, columnValuePairs, searchColumnName1, searchValue1[, searchColumnNameN, searchValueN, ...], columnToUpdate1, updatedValue1[, columnToUpdateN, updatedValueN, ...])  →  number

Parameters

Name Type Required Description
dataExt string Yes Name or external key of the data extension to update
columnValuePairs number Yes Count of search column/value pairs that follow
searchColumnName1 string Yes First column to match on
searchValue1 string | number Yes Value the first search column must equal
searchColumnNameN string No Further search columns, each paired with a value
searchValueN string | number No Value for the corresponding further search column
columnToUpdate1 string Yes First column to write
updatedValue1 string | number Yes New value for the first updated column
columnToUpdateN string No Further columns to write, each paired with a value
updatedValueN string | number No New value for the corresponding further column

Example

%%[
  VAR @rows
  SET @rows = UpdateData("AMP_VERIFY_SCRATCH", 1, "Id", "W1", "FirstName", "Ingrid", "Score", 99)
]%%
Updated: %%=v(@rows)=%%

Renders Updated: 1. The 1 after the data extension is the search-pair count — one pair ("Id", "W1") identifies the row; the remaining pairs are the new values. Reading the row back in a later render shows FirstName=[Ingrid] Score=[99].

Match on a composite criterion by raising the count:

%%[
  UpdateData("Contacts", 2, "Region", "EU", "Status", "active", "LastTouched", Now())
]%%

Here 2 search pairs (Region/Status) select the rows to update.

Return value

number — the count of rows updated. A no-match returns 0 and mutates nothing: UpdateData("AMP_VERIFY_SCRATCH", 1, "Id", "NOPE", "FirstName", "Ghost") returned 0. The twin UpdateDE performs the same update but returns an empty string.

Behaviour

The second argument is a count, not data. columnValuePairs tells the function how many of the following pairs are search criteria; everything after them is treated as update values. Getting this count wrong misassigns search and update pairs.

A no-match is a silent no-op. No error, no abort — the call returns 0.

Updates are not visible to same-render reads of a row already read. AMPscript caches data-extension row reads within a single render: after UpdateData, a Lookup of a row already read earlier in the same render returns the stale pre-update value. A fresh render shows the new value.

Show test script
%%[
  VAR @b, @r
  SET @b = RequestParameter("b")

  IF @b == "zzz" THEN
    OutputLine(Concat("CTRL=[alive]"))
  ENDIF

  IF @b == "seed" THEN
    DeleteData("AMP_VERIFY_SCRATCH", "Id", "W1")
    InsertData("AMP_VERIFY_SCRATCH", "Id", "W1", "FirstName", "Ivan", "Score", 5)
    OutputLine(Concat("seeded W1"))
  ENDIF

  IF @b == "upd" THEN
    /* second arg is the search-pair count */
    SET @r = UpdateData("AMP_VERIFY_SCRATCH", 1, "Id", "W1", "FirstName", "Ingrid", "Score", 99)
    OutputLine(Concat("UpdateData ret=[", @r, "]"))
    /* no-match returns 0 */
    OutputLine(Concat("UpdateData nomatch ret=[", UpdateData("AMP_VERIFY_SCRATCH", 1, "Id", "NOPE", "FirstName", "Ghost"), "]"))
  ENDIF

  IF @b == "read" THEN
    OutputLine(Concat("W1 FirstName=[", Lookup("AMP_VERIFY_SCRATCH", "FirstName", "Id", "W1"), "] Score=[", Lookup("AMP_VERIFY_SCRATCH", "Score", "Id", "W1"), "]"))
  ENDIF
]%%

Availability

Platform Available
Marketing Cloud Engagement Yes
Marketing Cloud Next No

See also