Follow these steps to find data in a database table:
1. Open the table containing the data you want to find.
2. Click in the field you want to search if you happen to know in which field the data you are looking for is located. If the data might be found in more than one field, it doesn't matter which field the cursor is in when you start the search.
CAUTION: Be sure to complete step 5 in
this list of instructions if you want to search in more than one field.
3. Press Ctrl-F, click the Find button, or choose Edit | Find. You see the Find and Replace dialog box shown in Figure 28-1.
4. Enter the text or numbers you are looking for in the Find What box.
5. In the Look In box specify the specific field or the entire database to be searched.
6. To speed up the search, choose an option from the Match drop-down list:
· Any Part of Field The search stops on the letters or numbers you entered in the Find What box no matter where it encounters them in fields. This is the broadest way to search. For example, a search for the letters “con” finds “Conner,” “Deacon,” “con,” “113 Condor Dr.,” and “University of Connecticut.”
· Whole Field The search stops on the letters or numbers you entered only if the letters or numbers stand by themselves in a field. This is the narrowest way to search. A search for “con” finds “con” and “Con,” but not “Conner,” “Deacon,” “113 Condor Dr.,” or “University of Connecticut” because in those records “con” is part of the field, not the whole field.
· Start of Field The search stops on the letters or numbers you entered if they appear at the start of a field. A search for “con” finds “Con” and “Conner,” but not “Deacon,” “113 Condor Dr.,” or “University of Connecticut.”
7. To access further options, click the More button.
8. In the Search drop-down list, choose Up or Down instead of All if you know where the record is and you want to search in one direction.
9. Click the Match Case check box if you know the correct combination of upper- and lowercase letters you are looking for and you entered the right combination of letters in the Find What box.
10. Click the Search Fields As Formatted check box if you are searching in a field that has been formatted a specific way. Dates, times, numbers, currency figures, and Yes/No data types are formatted in specific ways (see "Establishing Field Properties for Easier Data Entry" in Chapter 27). To find data in a field that has been formatted, the Search Fields As Formatted check box must be checked and the text or numbers in the Find What box must be formatted correctly as well. For example, the search in Figure 28-1 will find 2/1/95 but will bypass February 1, 1995 in the Payment Date field.
11. Click the Find Next button. If the letters or numbers can be found, Access highlights the first place where they appear in the database table.
12. You can click Find Next as many times as it takes to find the record you’re seeking.
13. Click the Close button when your search is over.