Can I edit AutoNumber Column in Access?

database ms-access database-design autonumber
Pece picture Pece · Jun 24, 2010 · Viewed 22.5k times · Source

I've lost my data in Access base, and I've manage to bring them back but when I copy the values in the table with the AutoNumber Column it increments the numbers. Is there Any way to change it to int and then bring it back to AutoNumber?

Answer

Kip picture Kip · Apr 10, 2012

Here is how I managed to do this in Access 2010:

  1. Make a backup of your database. (Just to be safe.)
  2. Right-click on the table in the tables list, and select Export->Excel. Accept all defaults.
  3. Open the table in Excel and make the desired change to the autonumber field.
  4. Open the table and delete all rows
  5. Right-click on table in the tables list, and select Import->Excel
    • In the options, choose "Append to table" and select the table. Accept defaults for all other options

This might not be a viable solution for a large table. I don't think Excel can handle more than around 65K rows.

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