IDENT_SEED (Transact-SQL)

Article
05/16/2013

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.

Examples

A. Returning the seed value from a specified table

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

USE AdventureWorks2012;
GO
SELECT IDENT_SEED('Person.Address') AS Identity_Seed;
GO

USE AdventureWorks2012;
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 AdventureWorks database that include an identity column with a seed value.

USE AdventureWorks2012;
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

USE AdventureWorks2012;
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

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