Create a select or crosstab query (MDB)

The Simple Select Query Wizard creates queries that retrieve data from the fields you specify in one or more tables or queries. If you want, the wizard can also sum, count, and average values for groups of records or all records, and it can calculate the minimum or maximum value in a field. However, you can't limit the records it retrieves by setting criteria.

1. In the Database window, click Queries under Objects, and then click New on the Database window toolbar.
2. In the New Query dialog box, click Simple Query Wizard, and then click OK.
3. Follow the directions in the wizard dialog boxes. In the last dialog box, you can choose either to run the query or to see the query's structure in Design view.

   If the resulting query isn't exactly what you want, you can rerun the wizard or change the query in Design view.

1. In the Database window, click Queries under Objects, and then click New on the Database window toolbar.
2. In the New Query dialog box, click Design View, and then click OK.
3. In the Show Table dialog box, click the tab that lists the tables or queries whose data you want to work with.
4. Double-click the name of each object you want to add to the query, and then click Close.
5. Add fields to the Field row in the design grid, and if you want, specify criteria and a sort order.
6. To view the query's results, click View on the toolbar.

Using the Find Duplicates Query Wizard, you can create a select query to determine if there are duplicate records in a table. For example, you might search for duplicate values in an Address field to determine if you have duplicate records for the same supplier, or you might search for duplicate values in a City field to see which suppliers are in the same city.

1. In the Database window, click Queries under Objects, and then click New on the Database window toolbar.
2. In the New Query dialog box, click Find Duplicates Query Wizard, and then click OK.
3. Follow the directions in the wizard dialog boxes. If you don't choose to show fields in addition to those with duplicate values, the query results will sum the instances of each duplicate value. In the last dialog box, you can choose to run the query or see the query's structure in Design view.

   If the resulting query isn't exactly what you want, you can rerun the wizard or change the query in Design view.

Using the Find Unmatched Query Wizard, you can create a select query to find records in one table that don't have related records in another table. For example, you can find customers who don't have orders.

1. In the Database window, click Queries under Objects, and then click New on the Database window toolbar.
2. In the New Query dialog box, click Find Unmatched Query Wizard, and then click OK.
3. Follow the directions in the wizard dialog boxes. In the last dialog box, you can choose to run the query or see the query's structure in Design view.

   If the resulting query isn't exactly what you want, you can rerun the wizard or change the query in Design view.

1. In the Database window, click Queries under Objects, and then click New on the Database window toolbar.
2. In the New Query dialog box, click Crosstab Query Wizard, and then click OK.
3. Follow the directions in the wizard dialog boxes. In the last dialog box, you can choose to run the query or see the query's structure in Design view.

   If the resulting query isn't exactly what you want, you can rerun the wizard or change the query in Design view.

1. In the Database window, click Queries under Objects, and then click New on the Database window toolbar.
2. In the New Query dialog box, click Design View, and then click OK.
3. In the Show Table dialog box, click the tab that lists the tables or queries whose data you want to work with.
4. Double-click the name of each object you want to add to the query, and then click Close.
5. Add fields to the Field row in the design grid and specify criteria.
6. On the toolbar, click Query Type , and then click Crosstab.
7. For the field or fields whose values you want to appear as row headings, click the Crosstab row, and then click Row Heading.

   You must leave the default Group By in the Total row for these fields.

8. For the field whose values you want to appear as column headings, click the Crosstab row, and then click Column Heading. You can choose Column Heading for one field only, and you must leave Group By in the Total row for this field.

   By default, the column headings are sorted in alphabetic or numeric order. If you want them to appear in a different order, or if you want to limit which column headings to display, set the query's ColumnHeadings property.

   How?

   You can change the order or limit the column headings in a crosstab query. For example, in column headings containing the months of the year, you can display the months chronologically rather than alphabetically. Or, you can limit the columns to just January through June.

   1. Open the crosstab query in Design view.
   2. Click the background of query Design view, outside the design grid and the field lists.
   3. On the toolbar, click Properties to display the query's property sheet.
   4. In the ColumnHeadings property box, enter the column headings you want to display, in the order in which you want to display them. Between the column headings, type a comma or the list separator for your country/region. (To find the list separator for your country/region, see the regional settings in Microsoft Windows Control Panel.)

      The column headings you enter must exactly match the column headings in the query datasheet. For example, if a column heading in the datasheet is "USA," you must enter a column heading of "USA"— not "US." (After you press ENTER or move the pointer to a different location, Microsoft Access places quotation marks around each heading.)

   5. To view the query's results, click View on the toolbar.

   Notes

   • If you run a crosstab query often, or if you use it as the basis for a form, report, or data access page, you can speed up the query by using the preceding procedure to specify fixed column headings.
   • If you frequently use the same column headings in different queries, consider creating a table with one Text field to store the column headings. Then open the table and copy the headings into the ColumnHeadings property box as needed.
9. For the field whose values you want to use in the cross-tabulation, click the Crosstab row, and then click Value.

   Only one field can be set to Value.

10. In the Total row for this field, click the type of aggregate function you want for the cross-tabulation (such as Sum, Avg, or Count).
11. Do one of the following:

    Specify criteria that limit row headings before the calculation is performed

    • Enter an expression in the Criteria row for a field with Row Heading in the Crosstab cell.

      For example, you might display sales totals for products in certain categories, such as meat and seafood.

    Specify criteria that limit records before the row headings are grouped and before the cross-tabulation is performed

    1. Add the field you want to set criteria for to the design grid.

    2. Click Where in the Total cell.

    3. Leave the Crosstab cell blank.

    4. Enter an expression in the Criteria row.

       The query results won't display fields that have Where in the Total row.

    To view the query's results, click View on the toolbar.

    To stop the query after you start it, press CTRL+BREAK.

Notes

• The query Quarterly Orders by Product in the Northwind sample database is an example of a crosstab query. To view this query, open the Northwind database in your Office folder's Samples folder, and then open Quarterly Orders by Product in Design view.
• If you include a field in the query design grid, but click the (Not Shown) option in the Crosstab cell and Group By in the Total cell, Microsoft Access groups on it as a Row Heading, but doesn't display the row in the query's results.
• The values in your Column Heading field may include characters usually not allowed in field names, such as decimals. If they do, Access replaces the character with an underscore in the datasheet.