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4.2: Simple Query

  • Page ID
    15511
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    The simplest query is one that displays a complete table – all rows and columns. Suppose we want to list all books in the library. The process of creating the query is as follows:

    • Click on the Create tab if necessary and then click on the Query Design icon. Now you can right-click in the Relationships area and choose the Show Table option
    • A window pops up, and from the list of tables you must double-click Book:
      The QBE List of tables.
      Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): The QBE List of tables.
    • Choose Close from the Show Table pop up window

    MS Access displays the Book table and its fields in the Relationships area. The first in this list is an * which stands for all attributes – double-click the *. This results in the following:

    Choosing all fields of the table.
    Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): Choosing all fields of the table.

    We can run the query to test it and confirm it does what we expect: list all rows in Book. To run a query, click the Run icon:

    Run a query.
    Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\): Run a query.

    There are other views of a query. If you click the drop down just below the View icon:

    Several views for a query.
    Figure \(\PageIndex{4}\): Several views for a query.

    You can see all the ways of viewing a query, including:

    • Datasheet View
    • Design View
    • SQL View

    You can also run a query by choosing Datasheet View. When developing a query one often alternates between Datasheet View and Design View in order to get the query working as required. When you run a query, MS Access will retrieve the information requested. In this case the results of running the query are:

    Table \(\PageIndex{1}\): Query results.

    callNo

    title

    author

    paperback

    CB 351 M293 1983

    Atlas of medieval Europe

    Donald Matthew

    True

    HQ 1143 P68 1975

    Medieval women

    Eileen Power

    False

    PC 14 V48 1965

    Medieval miscellany

    Frederick Whitehead

    True

    QA 76.73 S67C435 2004

    Joe Celko's Trees and hierarchies in SQL for smarties

    Joe Celko

    False

    QA 76.73 S67C46 1997

    Joe Celko's SQL puzzles & answers

    Joe Celko

    True

    QA 76.76 A65P76 2011

    Programming Android

    Zigurd R Mednieks

    True

    QA 76.9 D26H355 2008

    Information modeling and relational databases

    T A Halpin

    True

    QA 76.9 D26H39 1996

    Data model patterns : conventions of thought

    David Hay

    True

    QA 76.9 D35C45 1999

    Joe Celko's data & databases : concepts in practice

    Joe Celko

    False

    R 141 E45 2006

    Medieval medicine and the plague

    Lynne Elliott

    False

    R 487 T35 1967

    Medicine in medieval England.

    Charles H Talbot

    False

    You can save the query:

    Pop-up for saving a query.
    Figure \(\PageIndex{5}\): Pop-up for saving a query.

    Now you can see the query listed as a database object. The query can be run any time by an end user. The results of the query are not stored or saved – only the definition of the query. Whenever a user runs the query the current contents of the Book table are accessed.


    This page titled 4.2: Simple Query is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Ron McFadyen.

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