Access 2013 Bible

Chapter 8: Selecting Data with Queries

IN THIS CHAPTER

Understanding what queries are and what they can do for you

Creating queries

Specifying the fields in a query

Displaying a query's results

Adding and removing fields from a query's design

Sorting a query's results

Filtering records returned by a query

Printing records returned by a query

Saving a query

Including more than one table in a query

Adding, deleting, and moving tables in a query

Joining tables in a query's design

Understanding the options for joining tables in a query

Queries are an essential part of any database application. Queries are the tools that enable you and your users to extract data from multiple tables, combine it in useful ways, and present it to the user as a datasheet, on a form, or as a printed report.

You may have heard the old cliché, “Queries convert data to information.” To a certain extent, this statement is true — that's why it's a cliché. The data contained within tables is not particularly useful because, for the most part, the data in tables appears in no particular order. Also, in a properly normalized database, important information is spread out among a number of different tables. Queries are what draw these various data sources together and present the combined information in such a way that users can actually work with the data.

On the Web

The starting database for this walkthrough, Chapter08.accdb, can be downloaded from this book's website.

Introducing Queries

A database's primary ...