Query criteria help you zero in on specific items in an Access database. If an item matches all the criteria you enter, it appears in the query results. To add criteria to an Access query, open the query in Design view and identify the fields (columns) you want to specify criteria for.

Using a query makes it easier to view, add, delete, or change data in your Access database. Some other reasons for using queries: Find specific quickly data by filtering on specific criteria (conditions)

Queries help retrieve information from your Access database. Here's how to create a simple select query.

Becoming familiar with the tables, forms, queries, and other objects in an Access database can make it easier to perform a wide variety of tasks, such as entering data into a form, adding or removing tables, finding and replacing data, and running queries.

Create a select query. Create a query to focus on specific data. Select Create > Query Wizard . Select Simple Query, and then OK. Select the table that contains the field, add the Available Fields you want to Selected Fields, and select Next.

In Access desktop databases you can set design options for table, form, report, and query designs from this centralized Access Options location.

A properly designed database provides you with access to up-to-date, accurate information. Because a correct design is essential to achieving your goals in working with a database, investing the time required to learn the principles of good design makes sense.

A query is a set of instructions that you can use for working with data. You run a query to perform these instructions. In addition to returning results — which can be sorted, grouped, or filtered — a query can also create, copy, delete, or change data.

To see information when either two or more alternate criteria are satisfied, use the or criteria rows in the Access query design grid. If you’d like a refresher, see applying criteria to a query. For example, if a business has customers in several different countries and they are running a promotion only for customers in France, UK and USA.

An Access database is not a file in the same sense as a Microsoft Word document or a Microsoft PowerPoint slide deck. Instead, it's a collection of objects — tables, forms, reports, queries, and so on — that must work together to function properly. Users enter data primarily through controls.