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BobLewiston
Starting Member
29 Posts |
 Posted - 2009-03-24 : 19:15:43
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| Using Visual C# 2008 Express and SQL Server 2008 Express, I would like to insert new records into database "AdventureWorks", table "Person.Contact".To my surprise, this table's int-value identity column "ContactID" does not appear to be auto-increment. I don't know how to confirm for sure that this is so. (I have installed SQL Server Management Studio, if that helps.)How can I confirm this, and how can I make ContactID auto-increment?And incidentally, will auto-increment just start incrementing from the highest existing ContactID, or will it first use lesser ContactID values that are absent from the table (presumably due to deletions)? |
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sunitabeck
Master Smack Fu Yak Hacker
5155 Posts |
Posted - 2009-03-24 : 19:27:36
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| In SQL management studio, in the object explorer window, expand ServerName->Databases->AdventureWorks->Tables->Person.Contact->Columns. Then, right click on ContactID and select Properties from the popup menu. In the window that will appear, if Identity is set to True, it is an identity column.You can change the identity property right click on Person.Contact and select Design. |
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tkizer
Almighty SQL Goddess
38200 Posts |
Posted - 2009-03-24 : 19:28:15
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| The GUI way is to right click on the table, select "Design", highlight the column, check the "Identity Specification" field. You can change its property there too.An identity will increment from the value returned by DBCC CHECKIDENT, which is typically the highest value. It will not fill in "gaps" due to deletes/updates.Tara KizerMicrosoft MVP for Windows Server System - SQL Serverhttp://weblogs.sqlteam.com/tarad/Subscribe to my blog"Let's begin with the premise that everything you've done up until this point is wrong." |
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tkizer
Almighty SQL Goddess
38200 Posts |
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auto-increment identity column
Tara Kizer