IDENT_SEED (Transact-SQL)

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

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 valid 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 2005, 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 AdventureWorks database.

USE AdventureWorks;
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 AdventureWorks;
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

See Also

Reference

Expressions (Transact-SQL)
System Functions (Transact-SQL)
IDENT_CURRENT (Transact-SQL)
IDENT_INCR (Transact-SQL)
DBCC CHECKIDENT (Transact-SQL)

Help and Information

Getting SQL Server 2005 Assistance

Change History

Release	History
17 November 2008	New content: Added text about DBCC CHECKIDENT.
17 July 2006	New content: Added the "Exceptions" section.