SQL Server CASE statement error: Incorrect syntax near '<'

Question

I am trying to convert:

• any number less than 0 to a -1.
• any number greater than or equal to 0 to a 1.

My statement is:

SUM(CASE [Apr] WHEN ([Apr] < 0) THEN -1 WHEN ([Apr] >= 0) THEN 1 ELSE NULL END) as Apr

[Apr] is an int which accepts Nulls.

Any ideas why this is not working?

Answer 1

Remove [Apr] after CASE when doing comparisions in WHEN

SUM(CASE WHEN ([Apr] < 0) THEN -1 WHEN ([Apr] >= 0) THEN 1 ELSE NULL END) as Apr

Answer 2

Get ride of the [Apr] after CASE.