This has been the case as far as I can remember (decades maybe): the dbSeeChanges option is required if an SQL Server table has an "identity" column, stated verbatim in the error message pictured below.  This is true for both recordsets and action queries.  For instance, the following action query will cause a run-time pictured below if the table has an identity column and the dbSeeChanges option is omitted:

     CurentDb.Execute "DELETE FROM Table1 WHERE field1='abc'", dbSeeChanges

I don't have access to any of Richard's paid courses.  Maybe he mentions it somewhere else in his courses.

An identity column in SQL Server is an autonumber field that is also a primary key field.  You can have a PK field that is not autonumber, and it will not need the dbSeeChanges option.

By the way, even if you run CurentDb.Execute, the error will still say "OpenRecordset" as pictured above.  Maybe that's where the confusion comes from?

Could have sworn I mentioned that somewhere in the seminar...