title: SQL Server : Row Number without ordering
body: <p>I want to create a <code>Select</code> statement that ranks the column as is without ordering. </p>
  
  <p>Currently, the table is in the following order:</p>
  
  <pre><code>ITEM_Description1
  ITEM_Description2
  ITEM_StockingType
  ITEM_RevisionNumber
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>I do not want the results to be numerical in any way, nor depend on the <code>VariableID</code> numbers, but with <code>ROW_Number()</code>, I have to choose something. Does anyone know how I can have the results look like this?</p>
  
  <pre><code>Row| VariableName
  ---------------------
   1 | ITEM_Description1
   2 | ITEM_Description2
   3 | ITEM_StockingType
   4 | ITEM_RevisionNumber
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>My code for an example is shown below.</p>
  
  <pre><code>SELECT  
      VariableName, 
      ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY VariableID) AS RowNumber
  FROM    
      SeanVault.dbo.TempVarIDs
  </code></pre>