arcgis desktop - Sequential IDs with field calculator: Pad a prefixed field to specific length

I have an ID field that is a text datatype. The IDs in the field have a prefix, and are padded with zeros to always be a specific length. Examples:

• INSP000098


• INSP000099


• INSP000100


• INSP000101

I would like to use the Field Calculator to generate sequential IDs for new records (records are batch loaded from various sources by the thousands).

I have a python script that almost does this:

Modified from: Create sequential numbers in a field using Python in the Field Calculator

prefix = "INSP0000"
lastnumber=97

rec=0
def autoIncrement(): 
 global rec 
 pStart = 1  

 pInterval = 1 
 if (rec == 0):  
  rec = 1 + lastnumber
 else:  
  rec += pInterval 
 return prefix+str(rec)

---

autoIncrement()

Steps:

1. Manually enter the prefix (with zeros for padding)


2. Manually enter the last number in the existing IDs


3. Run the script

Result:

Unfortunately, the tool isn't smart enough to dynamically adjust for the difference in the number of digits between numbers (99 to 100, etc.):

• INSP000098



• INSP000099


• INSP0000100 << Problem: too many zeros/digits


• INSP0000101

How can I use the field calculator to generate sequential, prefixed IDs that are padded with zeros to a specific length?

I'm not married to Python; VBScript would be an acceptable alternative.

Answer

rec=97
def withPads():
 global rec

 rec+=1
 return 'INSP%s' %str(rec).zfill(6)
#------------
withPads()

OUTPUT: