Access 2007: Find, Filter, and Sort Records
When you work with a database that contains many records, you will quickly see you need a method to be able to locate data when you want it. You can do this by Finding, Filtering, and Sorting records.
- Find one or more records in a table by clicking anywhere within the column containing the fields to search.
- Click
[Find
button] in the Find group on the Home tab. - Type the search value in Find What.
- Select the table to search from the pop-up menu next to LookIn.
- Select the Match (e.g., "Any Part of Field", etc.) and Search ("All", etc.) criteria.
- Click
.
Tasks related to filters are located in the Sort
& Filter group on the
Home tab. Before adding a new filter, clear any existing filters
by clicking 
and
selecting"Clear
All Filters".
- Add a filter to a search using one of the following methods:
- Find a record that contains the
value you want to use and select (highlight) the appropriate characters
or numbers. Choose the type of filter to apply by clicking
and
selecting a value from the pop-up menu that appears (e.g., "Contains", "Equals",
etc. depending on the field's data type). - Select a column and click
[Filter
button]. Choose a filter type by selecting either the Sort
A to Z or Sort
Z to A options or by clicking Filters to
display a pop-up menu with additional options. You also can uncheck
any records you want to exclude.
- Find a record that contains the
value you want to use and select (highlight) the appropriate characters
or numbers. Choose the type of filter to apply by clicking
- Quickly switch between a filtered and unfiltered view of the table by
clicking
.
- Rearrange the contents of a column in ascending or descending order by
clicking the
[Down
arrow button] at the top of the column and selecting Sort Z to
A or
vice versa. - Optionally, select records to exclude by unchecking them.
- Apply a simple filter by selecting an entry from the Text Filter pop-up menu (e.g., "Equals", "Does Not Equal", "Begins With", etc.).
If you perform the same search or filter operation regularly, you may want to create a query. A query is a way to locate specific records by customizing searches, applying specific filters, and sorting records. Once created, a query can be saved and reused; it also can be the basis for building forms and reports. These topics are covered in the Forms, Queries, and Reports lesson.