renew autonumber

[Guest]

I had a db crash while working on some forms. When it restarted I continued
working not realizing I was working off of a saved version called backup that
had been created. By the time I realized it I had completed a bunch of more
work on the forms. No problem except --- my autonumber in my main client
table when I add a new client is starting at about 44million. I'd prefer to
have fewer digits because sometimes people have to enter a client number.
I'm going to emty all the table of entries soon anyway to transition to the
new db but can anyone tell me how to restart the autonumbering?

 

[Larry Linson]

I had a db crash while working on some forms. When it restarted I continued
working not realizing I was working off of a saved version called backup that
had been created. By the time I realized it I had completed a bunch of more
work on the forms. No problem except --- my autonumber in my main client
table when I add a new client is starting at about 44million. I'd prefer to
have fewer digits because sometimes people have to enter a client number.
I'm going to emty all the table of entries soon anyway to transition to the
new db but can anyone tell me how to restart the autonumbering?

FIRST, MAKE A BACKUP COPY. {IN FACT, WHEN DEVELOPING, THERE ARE ONLY TWO
TIMES TO BACK UP YOUR DATABASE: (1) EARLY AND (2) OFTEN.}

If you delete all the records, close the database, open Access, and use
Tools | Compact and Repair to compact the database, the AutoNumber Field
will be reset to start at 1.

In some previous versions, you could leave some records, Compact and Repair,
and AutoNumbering would start with the next higher number than the largest
number in the AutoNumber Field. But, that difference should not be a
problem as what you want to do is "start anew".

After a crash that affected your database in this way, you might want to
consider compacting and repairing, then creating a new database and
importing all the objects, or "Save as Text", and "Load from Text" into the
new database, then proceeding with that database to avoid any hidden/silent
corruption. Search the archives of this newsgroup and/or the USENET
newsgroup comp.databases.ms-access for details on the undocumented Save as
Text and Load from Text features.

And, just in case I didn't emphasize it enough: FIRST, MAKE A BACKUP COPY.
{IN FACT, WHEN DEVELOPING, THERE ARE ONLY TWO TIMES TO BACK UP YOUR
DATABASE: (1) EARLY AND (2) OFTEN.}

Larry Linson
Microsoft Access MVP

 

[Smartin]

FIRST, MAKE A BACKUP COPY. {IN FACT, WHEN DEVELOPING, THERE ARE ONLY TWO
TIMES TO BACK UP YOUR DATABASE: (1) EARLY AND (2) OFTEN.}

Tho' it is no laughing matter, I had to laugh out loud here. I utter the
mantra, "save early! save often" so frequently my coworkers and family
think me insane.

Shyness is exponentially inverse to Count (Times_Bitten).

Thanks Larry (^: