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I have a calculated field in a SharePoint 2007 list. I want this calculated field to include the ID of the item but I could not find the ID column inside the "Insert Column" List box.

How should I go about in order to get my calculated field to have the ID of this item. (For your info: the calculated field does not only just contain the ID of this item.)

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3 Answers

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If you need to use the ID in a calculation, the best approach is to do the calculation in a workflow and set a column to the value returned by the calculation.

IDs can work in calculated columns, they are unreliable, speaking from experience. Now I always use On creation and on change workflows in situations where I absolutely have to use the ID value in some sort of calculated column.

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Unfortunately I don't think you can include ID as part of a calculated column. It's been a while since I looked at this but from memory I think it has to do with the ID column having a null value until the item is saved for the first time, so SharePoint doesn't allow it.

A workaround that I've used in the past is to implement an event handler on the list which will update a custom integer column on the list with the item id after the ItemAdded event has occurred. Your calculated column can then use this custom column as part of its calculation.

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Thanks everyone for your help but I have do some testing and notice that I can simply use =[ID] to retrieve the ID even though the ID is not listed inside the "Insert Column" list box.

Kind of quite surprise for me as I thought that the ID field will be display in the "Insert Column" rather than hidden.

(Do let me know if it does not work in your case.)

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=[ID] works when you set it up, but as soon as you create new items it'll break. – Christophe Nov 10 '11 at 5:33
Yeah. That's bad. When I create a new items, every things break. (Wonder if this is a bug or not). Thanks Christophe for the enlightenment. – Anderson Karu Nov 10 '11 at 8:59
It isn't intended to be used in calculated columns. you can add it, but as I mentioned, the functionality of it is buggy. Using a workflow to set a column value to the ID to use in your calculated filed or building the calculated field directly in a workflow are your best, no code options. – PirateEric Nov 10 '11 at 18:26

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