MySQL: How to change table and database collation
Listing table information including collation
show table status;
To show all table information use this command:
show full columns from xxx;
Convert existing columns in a table to a specific collation
alter table brands convert to character set utf8 collate utf8_swedish_ci;
This command converts all existing columns to the specified collation.
Change table collation
alter table posts collate utf8_swedish_ci;
Note that this doesn't change collation of existing columns.
Setting the collation manually
set session collation_database=utf8_swedish_ci;
set session collation_connection=utf8_swedish_ci;
Common collation values
utf8_swedish_ci
utf8_general_ci