Office 2016 For Dummies

Chapter 17

Searching, Sorting, and Querying a Database

IN THIS CHAPTER

Searching and filtering a database

Sorting databases

Creating and using queries

If you need to find a specific name in your database, searching through the database alphabetically may be tedious but possible. However, if you need to find the names of everyone in California who ordered more than $50,000 worth of supplies in the past three months, trying to find this information yourself would prove tedious and time-consuming. Yet, Access can search for this information at the blink of an eye.

If you search for specific types of data on a regular basis, you probably don’t want to keep telling Access what to search for over and over again. To simplify this, you can create a query. A query lets you define specific ways to search your data and save those parameters so you can retrieve data instantly the next time you need it.

Besides searching through data, Access can also sort data. Sorting can be as simple as organizing names alphabetically, or it can be more complicated, such as sorting names according to zip code, annual salary, and alphabetically by last name. Sorting simply rearranges your data so you can study it from a new point of view.

By searching, sorting, and querying your data, you can extract useful information about your data.

Searching a Database

A paper database is useful for storing information, but not so useful for finding it again. If you have a thousand business cards stored in a Rolodex ...