Q: I recently used an autoinc field
for the first time on a .DBF file. When I added the field (a couple hundred
records), each autoinc field was filled in with a number.
Yesterday, I tried the same thing on a .DBF with only 12 records and it refuses
to place numbers in the field. Any ideas as to what I might be doing wrong?
A: The recommended procedure is to copy the structure, add the autoinc to the
new table, and append the data. Directly modifying the structure of a table
is unwise, unless of course you have a current backup (Murphy strikes when least
expected). The following illustrates the recommended process:
USE oldtable
COPY STRUCTURE TO newtable with production
// the "with production" gets the production index tags
use newtable exclusive
// modify the structure
append from oldtable
Then you can delete the old table
(including the index) and rename the new ones to the old filenames.