How to Reset an AutoNumber Field Value in Access

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/18/12 How to reset an AutoNumber field value in Access

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How to reset an AutoNumber field value in AccessArticle ID: 812718 - View products that this article applies to.

This step-by-step article describes how to reset an AutoNumber field value in Access. The AutoNumber field value in Access does not automatically resetwhen you delete some rows or all rows in a table. To reset the AutoNumber field value and to refresh the AutoNumber value in the referenced table, youmust manually perform some tasks.

Note You must back up your database before you perform the steps that follow.

Reset an AutoNumber field in a single table

To reset an AutoNumber field value, you can use either Method 1 or Method 2.

Method 1

You can reset an AutoNumber field value so it corresponds with one of the fields in the table. To do this in Microsoft Office Access 2003 and in earlierversions, follow these steps:

1. Delete the AutoNumber field from the main table.

Make note of the AutoNumber field name.2. Click Queries on the left pane. Double-click Create query in Design view on right pane.3. In the Show Table dialog box, select the main table. Click Add and then click Close .4. Double-click the required fields in the table view of the main table to select the fields.5. Select the required Sort order.6. On the Query menu, click Make-Table Query . Type the new table name in the Table Name text box and then click OK .7. On the Query menu, click Run .8. A dialog box appear s with the text that follows: You are about to append # row(s) into a new table. Click Yes to insert the rows.9. On the File menu, click Close . Click No to close the Make-Table Query window.

10. Click Tables on the left pane. Right-click the new table and then click Design View .11. In the Design view for the table, add an AutoNumber field with the same field name that you deleted in step 1. Add this AutoNumber field to the ne

table and then save the table.12. Close the Design view window.13. Rename the main table name. Rename the new table name to the main table name.

To do this in Microsoft Office Access 2007, follow these steps:


Make note of the AutoNumber field name.2. Click the Create tab, and then click Query Design in the Other group.3. In the Show Table dialog box, select the main table. Click Add , and then click Close .4. Double-click the required fields in the table view of the main table to select the fields.5. Select the required Sort order.6. On the Design tab, click Make Table in the Query Type group. Type the new table name in the Table Name box, and then click OK .7. On the Design tab, click Run in the Results group.8. The following message appears:

You are about to paste # row(s) into a new table.

Click Yes to insert the rows.9. Close the query.

10. Right-click the new table, and then click Design View .11. In the Design view for the table, add an AutoNumber field that has the same field name that you deleted in step 1. Add this AutoNumber field to th

new table, and then save the table.12. Close the Design view window.

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13. Rename the main table name. Rename the new table name to the main table name.

Method 2

Alternatively, to reset an AutoNumber field value by using Method 2, follow these steps:

1. In Access 2003 and in earlier ver sions, delete the AutoNumber field from the main table.

Make note of the AutoNumber field name.2. Copy the structure of the main table and then create a new table.3. Click Queries on the left pane. Click Create query in Design view on right pane.4. In the Show Table dialog box, select the main table. Click Add and then click Close .5. To select the fields, double-click the required fields . Do this for all the fields except for the AutoNumber field in the Table view of the main table.6. On the Query menu, click Append Query .

This changes the query type.7. From the Table Name list, select the new table that you created in step 2. Click OK .8. On the Query menu, click Run .9. A dialog box appear s with the text that follows: You are about to paste # row(s). Click Yes to insert the rows.

10. On the File menu, click Close . Click No to close the Append Query window.11. Click Tables on the left pane. Right-click the new table and then click Design View .12. In the Design view for the table, add an AutoNumber field with the same field name that you deleted in step 1. Add this AutoNumber field to the ne

table and then save the table.13. Close the Design view window.14. Rename the main table name. Rename the new table name to the main table name.

In Access 2007, follow these steps:


Make note of the AutoNumber field name.2. Copy the structure of the main table, and then create a new table.3. Click the Create tab, and then click Query Design in the Other group.4. In the Show Table dialog box, select the main table. Click Add , and then click Close .5. To select the fields, double-click the required fields . Do this for all the fields except for the AutoNumber field in the Table view of the main table.6. On the Design tab, click Append in the Query Type group. This changes the query type.7. From the Table Name list, select the new table that you created in step 2, and then click OK .8. On the Design tab, click Run in the Results group.9. The following message appears:

You are about to append # row(s) into a new table.

Click Yes to insert the rows.10. Close the query.11. Right-click the new table, and then click Design View .12. In the Design view for the table, add an AutoNumber field that has the same field name that you deleted in step 1. Add this AutoNumber field to th

new table, and then save the table.13. Close the Design view window.14. Rename the main table name. Rename the new table name to the main table name.

Reset an AutoNumber field in a table with referenced tables

The steps that follow describe how to reset the AutoNumber field for a table that has one referenced table. If you have more than one referenced table, youmust follow these steps for each referenced table.

1. Remove the relationship between the tables.2. Set the AutoNumber field of the main table to a Number data type. Remove the primary key.3. Create a new field of AutoNumber data type in the main table. Save the table.4. Create a new field of Number data type in the referenced table. Save the table.5. To crea te an update query that updates the new field in the refer enced table to the new AutoNumber field of the main table, follow these steps:

a. In Access 2003 and in earlier versions, click Queries on the left pane. Click Create query in Design view on right pane.

This creates your new query.b. In the Show Table dialog box, select the main table and the referenced table. Click Add to add the main table and the referenced table. Click

Close .c. Click the field in the main table that was previously linked to the referenced table. Use the drag-and-dr op feature to put the field on the

previously linked field of the referenced table.


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This creates the join between the tables that is based on the original linking fields.d. On the Query menu, click Update Query .e. Double-click the new field from the referenced table to add it to the field list.f. In the Update To field, type [Main TableName].[New AutoNumber field] to update the new field values in the referenced table.

g. On the Query menu, click Run .h. A dialog box appears with the text that follows: You are about to update # row(s). Click Yes to update the rows.i. On the File menu, click Close . Click No to close the Update Query window.

In Access 2007, follow these steps:

a. Click the Create tab, and then click Query Design in the Other group. This creates the new query.b. In the Show Table dialog box, select the main table and the referenced table. Click Add to add the main table and the referenced table. Click

Close .c. Click the field in the main table that was previously linked to the referenced table. Use the drag-and-dr op feature to put the field on the

previously linked field of the referenced table.

This creates the join between the tables that is based on the original linking fields.d. On the Design tab, click Update in the Query Type group. This changes the query type.e. Double-click the new field from the referenced table to add it to the field list.f. In the Update To field, type [Main TableName].[New AutoNumber field] to update the new field values in the referenced table.

g. On the Design tab, click Run in the Results group.h. The following message appears:

You are about to update # row(s).

Click Yes to update the rows.i. Close the query.

6. Delete the original linking field from the main table and the referenced table.7. Rename the new AutoNumber field to the original name.8. Re-crea te the primar y key and the relationship between the tables.

This procedure resets your AutoNumber field and then updates the referenced table with the correct key values.

You can also reset the AutoNumber field if you compact the database. However, this may not always work successfully with Access 2002 or later. You mayhave more success if you compact the database with Access 2000 and Jet 4.0 version of the Microsoft Jet Database Engine. For more information, click thefollowing article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

287756 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/287756/ ) AutoNumber field is not reset after you compact an Access database

For more information, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:209696 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/209696/ ) How to use an append query to set initial value of an AutoNumber field

94821 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/94821/ ) Use append query to set initial value of AutoNumber field

202121 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/202121/ ) Cannot change default seed and increment value in UI

Article ID: 812718 - Last Review: August 17, 2007 - Revision: 7.3

APPLIES TOMicrosoft Office Access 2007Microsoft Office Access 2003Microsoft Access 2002 Standard EditionMicrosoft Access 2000 Standard Edition

Keywords: kbsysadmin kbhowtomaster kbhowto KB812718

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