Creating and Running SQL Queries

You can create SQL queries either by entering SQL statements directly into an SQL window (click

on the SQL Wizard toolbar), or by using a prompted query in the Query Design window (click

on the toolbar). You do not need to understand SQL to create a prompted query. The Query Design window is split into two areas:

• A schema view that shows the tables involved in your query and any relationships between them. This area of the window is called the table display area.
• A query-by-example view, which shows the columns resulting from your query with any filters that you have applied to them. This area of the window is called the query conditions grid.

When you create a prompted query, you first select the table and columns. Then you apply conditions and sort criteria to the columns to achieve the final result set. Further choices are available from the menus, including joins, the creation of computed columns and the use of built-in functions such as minimum, maximum and average.

As you create a prompted query, the equivalent SQL statements are built up by SQL Wizard. To see them, click

. You can edit the SQL statements directly but the changes you make do not appear in the Query Design window. To go back to the Query Design window, click

. It's a good idea to save your prompted query before you try editing it in the SQL window. You can run your query and see the results at any time by clicking

.