Caution |

Keep in mind that if you delete data from a query, you're deleting it from the tables behind the query as well.  Be sure you do not accidentally delete important data

 

Tip |

Design your tables to store data efficiently; then design your queries to present the data any way you want

 

Tip |

Access uses the information you entered when you created relationships to decide which field to use to look up data from a related table.  So, define your relationships before you build your queries!

 

Note |

If you do not specify a sort in a query, Access decides how to sort the result for you.  Usually this is according to the first field of the first table in the query.

Note |

Access sometimes alters what you enter as a filter.  For example, if you type Yarrow (without quotes), you'll see it as "Yarrow" (with quotes) when you return to design view.  This is nothing to be alarmed about.  In fact, it's just Access's way of helping you.

Query Filter Expression

Expression Meaning
"Blue" Exactly the value "Blue"
"Blue" or "Red" Either "Blue" or "Red"
Like "B*" Anything starting with "B".  The * is a wildcard that matches any number of characters.
Like "B??" "Boo", "Boy", "Bay", or any other three-letter word starting with B.  The ? is a wildcard matching precisely one character.
< "N" Before N in the alphabet
333 Exactly 333
>= 333 333 or more
Between 5 and 100 At least 5, but no more than 100
#3/5/2000# The date March 5, 2000 (applies to DateTime fields only).
Not "Green" Anything other than "Green"
In ("Red", "Blue", "Green") Matches red, blue, or green
Is Null Field does not contain a value
Is Not Null Field contains any value (isn't blank)

Tip |

To filter on a field without displaying the contents of the field, just uncheck the Show box, as you did in this example

Quick Glance on tips:

  1. Queries provide a flexible way to display data from a database.  You can combine data from multiple tables or display only the data of interest by using queries.
  2. The Simple Query Wizard provides a quick way to build up queries that return records from one or more tables
  3. Query design view is a more flexible alternative to the Simple Query Wizard.  With query design view, you can control the sorting order of the displayed records and set up complex filters to limit the amount of data returned by a query