If you’re getting the error ‘Cannot insert explicit value for identity column in table when IDENTITY_INSERT is set to OFF’, it means you’re trying to insert a value into an identity column. Identity columns are used to generate unique numeric values and are usually used as primary keys. You can’t insert a value into an identity column, you can only let the database generate a value for you. To fix this error, you need to set IDENTITY_INSERT to ON.
Table of Contents
How to Fix the Error ‘Cannot insert explicit value for identity column in table when IDENTITY_INSERT is set to OFF’?
What is the Error?
The error ‘Cannot insert explicit value for identity column in table when IDENTITY_INSERT is set to OFF’ occurs when someone tries to insert a value into an identity column in a table when the IDENTITY_INSERT setting is OFF.
For example, let’s say we have a table ‘Person’ with an identity column ‘PersonID’. The IDENTITY_INSERT setting is OFF by default, so if we try to insert a value into the ‘PersonID’ column, we will get the following error:
Cannot insert explicit value for identity column in table ‘Person’ when IDENTITY_INSERT is set to OFF.
This error can be caused by several things, but the most likely cause is that someone has tried to insert a value into the identity column when they shouldn’t have.
3) How to Fix the Error
There are a few ways to fix this error, depending on what the cause is.
If the cause is that someone has tried to insert a value into the identity column when they shouldn’t have, the fix is to simply set the IDENTITY_INSERT setting to ON. This can be done using the following SQL:
SET IDENTITY_INSERT Person ON;
Once the IDENTITY_INSERT setting is ON, you will be able to insert values into the identity column. Just be sure to set it back to OFF when you’re done so that you don’t accidentally insert values into the column when you shouldn’t.
If the cause is that the data type of the identity column is not set to an identity data type, the fix is to change the data type of the column to an identity data type. This can be done using the following SQL:
ALTER TABLE Person
ALTER COLUMN PersonID INT IDENTITY(1,1);
Once the data type of the column is changed to an identity data type, you will be able to insert values into the column.
4) Conclusion
The error ‘Cannot insert explicit value for identity column in table when IDENTITY_INSERT is set to OFF’ can be caused by several things, but the most likely cause is that someone has tried to insert a value into the identity column when they shouldn’t have. The fix is to simply set the IDENTITY_INSERT setting to ON. Just be sure to set it back to OFF when you’re done so that you don’t accidentally insert values into the column when you shouldn’t.
How to Fix the Error?
When you receive the error ‘Cannot insert explicit value for identity column in table when IDENTITY_INSERT is set to OFF’, this means that you are trying to insert a value into an identity column in a table where the IDENTITY_INSERT setting is OFF. In order to fix this, you will need to set the IDENTITY_INSERT setting to ON for the table in question. You can do this by using the following T-SQL code:
IDENTITY_INSERT ON [table name]
Once you have set the IDENTITY_INSERT setting to ON, you will then be able to insert values into the identity column.
Further Reading
If you want to learn more about the error ‘Cannot insert explicit value for identity column in table when IDENTITY_INSERT is set to OFF’, we suggest doing some further reading. There are a few different ways that this error can occur, so it’s important to understand all the potential causes.
One article that might be helpful is this one from Stack Overflow. It goes into detail about how to resolve the error, depending on the cause.
Another helpful article is this one from Microsoft. It provides more information about the error and how to fix it.
Finally, this article from Database Star provides some background on the error and how to prevent it from happening in the first place.
By doing some further reading on this topic, you’ll be able to better understand the error and how to fix it if it does occur.
Must Read
When you try to insert a new row into a table with an identity column, you may get the following error message:
Cannot insert explicit value for identity column in table when IDENTITY_INSERT is set to OFF.
This can happen if the table already has data in it and the identity column has been used. In order to insert new data, you will need to first set the IDENTITY_INSERT option to ON.
To do this, you can use the following statement:
SET IDENTITY_INSERT [TableName] ON
Once you have executed this statement, you will be able to insert new data into the table. Remember to set the IDENTITY_INSERT option back to OFF when you are finished.
Conclusion
When troubleshooting the “Cannot insert explicit value for identity column in table” error, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, make sure that the IDENTITY_INSERT setting is correct for the table in question. Second, check that all of the columns in the table are accounted for in the INSERT statement. Finally, if the table has a trigger associated with it, make sure that the trigger is not interfering with the INSERT statement.
