Specifying Multiple Search Conditions for Multiple Columns

Specifying Multiple Search Conditions for Multiple Columns

You can expand or narrow the scope of your query by including several data columns as part of your search condition. For example, you might want to:

• Search for employees who either have worked more than five years at the company or who hold certain jobs.
  
  
• Search for a book that is both published by a specific publisher and pertains to cooking.

To create a query that searches for values in either of two (or more) columns, you specify an OR condition. To create a query that must meet all conditions in two (or more) columns, you specify an AND condition.

Note   If you are creating queries that include combinations of AND and OR clauses, you must be aware of how the query is interpreted when you execute it. For details, see Combining Search Conditions.

Specifying an OR Condition

To create multiple conditions linked with OR, you put each separate condition in a different column of the Grid pane.

To specify an OR condition for two different columns

1. In the Grid pane, add the columns you want to search. For details, see Adding Columns.
   
   
2. In the Criteria column for the first column to search, specify the first condition. For details, see Specifying Search Conditions.
   
   
3. In the Or ... column for the second data column to search, specify the second condition, leaving the Criteria column blank.

The Query Designer creates a WHERE clause that contains an OR condition such as the following:

SELECT job_lvl, hire_date
FROM employee
WHERE (job_lvl >= 200) OR 
  (hire_date < '01/01/90')

4. Repeat Steps 3 and 4 for each additional condition you want to add. Use a different Or ... column for each new condition.

Specifying an AND Condition

To search different data columns using conditions linked with AND, you put all the conditions in the Criteria column of the grid.

To specify an AND condition for two different columns

1. In the Grid pane, add the columns you want to search.
   
   
2. In the Criteria column for the first data column to search, specify the first condition.
   
   
3. In the Criteria column for the second data column, specify the second condition.

The Query Designer creates a WHERE clause that contains an AND condition such as the following:

SELECT pub_id, title
FROM titles
WHERE (pub_id = '0877') AND (title LIKE '%Cook%')

4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 for each additional condition you want to add.

See Also

Combining Conditions when AND Has Precedence | Combining Conditions when OR Has Precedence | Combining Search Conditions | Comparison Operators | Specifying Search Criteria