Access 2003: Queries Introduced

• By Alison Balter
• Nov 13, 2003
• Sample Chapter is provided courtesy of Sams

This chapter is from the book
Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Office Access 2003 in 24 Hours

Hour 3: Queries Introduced

Queries are stored questions about data. They are an extremely powerful aspect of Microsoft Access. By using queries, you can retrieve just the data you want, how you want it, whenever you want it. In this hour you'll learn the following:

• What a query is and when you should use one

• How to open a query in Datasheet view

• How to open a query in Design view

• How to run a query

• How to add fields to a query, change the sort order of a query, and modify a query's criteria

• How to save a query

• How to print query results

• How to close a query

What Is a Query and When Should You Use One?

A Select query is a stored question about the data stored in a database's tables. Select queries are the foundation of much of what you do in Access. They underlie most forms and reports, and they allow you to view the data you want, when you want. You use a simple Select query to define the tables and fields whose data you want to view and also to specify the criteria that limits the data the query's output displays. A Select query is a query of a table or tables that just displays data; the query doesn't modify data in any way. An example is a query that allows you to view customers who have placed orders in the past month. You can use more advanced Select queries to summarize data, supply the results of calculations, or cross-tabulate data. You can use Action queries to add, edit, or delete data from tables, based on selected criteria, but this hour covers Select queries. Hour 15, "Power Query Techniques," covers other types of queries, including Action queries.