Access For Dummies

Chapter 17

Take Charge with Action Queries

IN THIS CHAPTER

Updating multiple records that match specific criteria

Adding records from one table into another table

Deleting multiple records that match specific criteria

Ever have to update multiple records in a table with the same information? How about copying data from a linked spreadsheet into an existing Access table? What about deleting a certain group of records from a table? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you’ve come to the right place. Action queries perform a specific task on a group of records in a table, all in one fell swoop, so you don’t have to add or update each record manually. (Now, try to control your excitement! If you ever get into the situation where an action query is needed, I know you’ll thank me for writing this.)

The three most common action queries are

• Update: This query updates the value in a field for the records you select via the Criteria row. For example, if an employee keys in the wrong order date of 11/2/2022 on 25 orders, an update query would allow you to easily update all 25 order dates to the correct date of 11/3/2022.
• Append: Use this query type to add records from one ...