Microsoft 365 Access For Dummies, 2nd Edition

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

Do you 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? Most likely, you’ve also had to delete a certain group of records from a table, and wished you could do it faster and more accurately, so you didn’t accidentally delete anything you wanted to keep. If any of these scenarios sound familiar, 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.

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 11/2/2025 on 30 orders, an update query would allow you to easily update all 30 order dates to the correct date of 11/3/2025.
• Append: Use this query type to add records from one table to another. ...