Microsoft Access 2010 Bible

Chapter 4: Selecting Data with Queries

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Selecting a field from the drop-down list in the field cell first adds the table’s name, followed by a

period and the field name. For example, the ProductID in tblSalesLineItems is displayed

as tblSalesLineItems.ProductID. This helps you select the correct field name. Using this

method, you can select a common field name from a specific table.

Tip
The easiest way to select fields is still to double-click the field names in the top half of the query designer. To
do so, you might have to resize the Field List windows to see the fields that you want to select.

Viewing table names

When you’re working with multiple tables in a query, the field names in the QBE grid can become

confusing. You might find yourself asking, for example, just which table the Description field

is from.

Access automatically maintains the table name that is associated with each field displayed in the

QBE grid. Figure 4.23 shows the query designer with the name of each table displayed under the

field name in the QBE grid.

FIGURE 4.23

The QBE grid with table names displayed. Notice that it shows all four table names.

After you add fields to a query, you can run the query. Figure 4.24 shows the data returned by the

query in Figure 4.23.