Microsoft® Access® 2010 Inside Out

Limitations on Using Select Queries to Update Data

The recordset that Access creates when you run a query looks and acts pretty much like a real table containing data. In fact, in most cases, you can insert rows, delete rows, and update the information in a recordset, and Access will make the necessary changes to the underlying table or tables for you.

In some cases, however, Access won’t be able to figure out what needs to be changed. Consider, for example, a calculated field named Total that is the result of multiplying two fields named Quantity and Price. If you try to increase the amount in a Total field, Access can’t know whether you mean to update the Quantity field or the Price field. On the other hand, you can change either the Price field ...