Change the Dataverse Primary Column to Autonumber (Step by Step)

You built a Dataverse table, and now everyone types loan numbers by hand into the primary column. Some say LOAN-7, some say loan 7, and nobody knows which number comes next.

In this tutorial, we’ll set up a Dataverse primary column autonumber on a real Asset Loan table, explain why you can’t swap the primary column for another one, and show the three autonumber types with the gotchas we hit while testing.

Quick answer: You can’t make a different column the primary column after a table exists. You can rename it and change its data type. In Power Apps, open Tables > your table > Columns, open the primary column’s … menu, select Edit, set Data type to Autonumber, pick a format and save.

What You Need Before You Start

• A Power Platform environment with Dataverse and the System Customizer role (or higher).
• A custom table. We use Asset Loan, whose primary column is Loan Number. New to tables? Start with how to create a Dataverse table.
• Power Apps at make.powerapps.com. The classic solution explorer can’t create or manage autonumber columns.

Primary Column vs Primary Key: What’s the Difference?

Every Dataverse table has two special columns. The primary key is a GUID that Dataverse creates for each row, such as cr85a_assetloanid. You never edit it. If Dataverse itself is new to you, read what Microsoft Dataverse is and how it stores data.

The primary name column (Power Apps just calls it the primary column) is the text people see in lookups, views and form headers. An “autonumber primary key” really means an autonumber primary name column; the key stays a GUID.

Can You Change the Primary Column in Dataverse?

Not to a different column. No column menu on our tables has a “set as primary column” command. The primary column is chosen when the table is created. That’s why our Power Apps apps that read Dataverse data always show the same column in lookups.

What you can change: the display name (the schema name stays as it was) and the data type, but only between Plain text and Autonumber.

Step 1: Open the Primary Column

Go to make.powerapps.com, pick your environment, select Tables, open your table, and select Columns. The primary column has a Primary name column tag. Select its … menu and then Edit. More table how-tos are on our Power Apps tutorials hub.

Step 2: Change the Data Type to Autonumber

In the Edit column panel, open Data type. On a primary column, the list offers only Plain text and Autonumber.

Choose Autonumber. Required switches to Optional, because Dataverse fills the value when the row is saved.

Step 3: Pick an Autonumber Type

Open Autonumber type. You get three options:

String prefixed number is the default: a prefix, a minimum number of digits and a seed value. Here’s the gotcha we hit: it adds its own hyphen. Typing LOAN- as the prefix gave a preview of LOAN–00001.

So type the prefix without the hyphen. With prefix LOAN, 5 digits and seed 1, the preview reads LOAN-00001, LOAN-00002, LOAN-00003.

Date prefixed number puts the date the row was created, in UTC, before the number. You pick the date format from a list.

Custom lets you write the whole format. On our Asset table we used this format with seed 1000, and the preview showed ASSET-1000, ASSET-1001 and ASSET-1002:

ASSET-{SEQNUM:4}

The + Append menu adds a sequential number, a datetime or a random string. All three together:

LOAN-{DATETIMEUTC:yyyyMMdd}-{SEQNUM:4}-{RANDSTRING:3}

Step 4: Save and Test New Rows

Select Save (ours took about 20 seconds), then add rows and check the grid:

• The two rows typed earlier kept their text (“Laptop for Megan Bowen”, “Projector for Town Hall”). Nothing is backfilled.
• New rows saved without a value got LOAN-00001, LOAN-00002 and LOAN-00003.
• A row saved with the value MANUAL-7 kept it, and it didn’t use up a number.

So apps and flows simply leave the column out. That applies when you add data to a Dataverse table from Power Apps and when you add a new Dataverse row with Power Automate.

Dataverse Autonumber Cheat Sheet

Setting or placeholder	What it does	Example
String prefixed number	Prefix + hyphen + number	LOAN-00001
Date prefixed number	Creation date (UTC) + number	Date format from a list
{SEQNUM:n}	Sequential number, at least n digits; grows past n	{SEQNUM:4} -> 1000
{RANDSTRING:n}	Random letters and digits, n from 1 to 6	{RANDSTRING:3} -> R3V
{DATETIMEUTC:format}	UTC date/time in a .NET format	{DATETIMEUTC:yyyyMMdd}
Seed value	The next number to use (default 1000)	1000

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Adding a hyphen to the prefix. String prefixed number adds one already, so you get LOAN–00001.
• Expecting old rows to update. Existing values stay. Fix them by hand or with a flow.
• Using {RANDSTRING:7} or more. the first new row fails with an Invalid Argument error.
• Swapping the day and month. Use yyyyMMdd (MM is the month). The old yyyyddMM pattern gives 20262110 instead of 20261021.
• Panicking over gaps. A number is reserved when a row is started, so a canceled row leaves a gap. The same goes for imports, like our flow that imports a CSV into Dataverse.

Another one: moving the table with a solution doesn’t carry the seed. To set the next number in the target environment, call the Web API SetAutoNumberSeed action:

POST [Organization URI]/api/data/v9.2/SetAutoNumberSeed
{
  "EntityName": "cr85a_assetloan",
  "AttributeName": "cr85a_loannumber",
  "Value": 500
}

Next Steps

Next, a Dataverse formula column can join the loan number and the borrower’s name into a friendlier label.

We’d keep going with these Dataverse guides:

• Power Apps Dataverse Choices [Complete Guide]
• How to Create Dataverse View [With Examples]
• Dataverse Version History
• How to Count Rows From Dataverse Table Using Power Automate

Frequently Asked Questions