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IDENT_SEED (Transact-SQL)

SQL Server 2008 R2

Returns the original seed value (returned as numeric(@@MAXPRECISION,0)) that was specified when an identity column in a table or a view was created. Changing the current value of an identity column by using DBCC CHECKIDENT does not change the value returned by this function.

Topic link icon Transact-SQL Syntax Conventions

Syntax


IDENT_SEED ( 'table_or_view' )

Arguments

'table_or_view': Is an expression that specifies the table or view to check for a identity seed value. table_or_view can be a character string constant enclosed in quotation marks, a variable, a function, or a column name. table_or_view is char, nchar, varchar, or nvarchar.

Return Types

numeric

Exceptions

Returns NULL on error or if a caller does not have permission to view the object.

In SQL Server, a user can only view the metadata of securables that the user owns or on which the user has been granted permission. This means that metadata-emitting, built-in functions such as IDENT_SEED may return NULL if the user does not have any permission on the object. For more information, see Metadata Visibility Configuration and Troubleshooting Metadata Visibility.

Examples

A. Returning the seed value from a specified table

The following example returns the seed value for the Person.Address table in the AdventureWorks2008R2 database.

Transact-SQL

USE AdventureWorks2008R2;
GO
SELECT IDENT_SEED('Person.Address') AS Identity_Seed;
GO

B. Returning the seed value from multiple tables

The following example returns the tables in the AdventureWorks2008R2 database that include an identity column with a seed value.

Transact-SQL

USE AdventureWorks2008R2;
GO
SELECT TABLE_SCHEMA, TABLE_NAME, 
   IDENT_SEED(TABLE_SCHEMA + '.' + TABLE_NAME) AS IDENT_SEED
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES
WHERE IDENT_SEED(TABLE_SCHEMA + '.' + TABLE_NAME) IS NOT NULL;
GO

Here is a partial result set.

TABLE_SCHEMA TABLE_NAME IDENT_SEED

------------ --------------------------- -----------

Person Address 1

Production ProductReview 1

Production TransactionHistory 100000

Person AddressType 1

Production ProductSubcategory 1

Person vAdditionalContactInfo 1

dbo AWBuildVersion 1