When you want to either quickly delete a lot of data or delete a set of data on a regular basis in an Access desktop database, a delete or an update query might be useful because the queries make it possible to specify criteria to quickly find and delete the data. Using a query can also be a timesaver because you can reuse a saved query.
Note: Before you delete any data or run a delete query, make sure that you have a backup of your Access desktop database.
If you want to only delete a few records, you don’t need a query. Just open the table in Datasheet view, select the fields (columns) or records (rows) that you want to delete, and then press DELETE.
Note: Before you delete any data or run a delete query, make sure that you have a backup of your Access desktop database.
If you want to only delete a few records, you don’t need a query. Just open the table in Datasheet view, select the fields (columns) or records (rows) that you want to delete, and then press DELETE.
Delete query - choosing a query type
You can use either an update query or a delete query to delete data from your database. Select a query based on the details in the following table:
(Query type) Use a delete query - (When to use it) To remove entire records (rows) from a table or from two related tables simultaneously. - (Result) Delete queries remove all the data in each field, including the key value that makes a record unique
(Query type) Use an update query - (When to use it) To delete individual field values from a table. (Result) Makes it easier to delete values by updating the existing values to either a null value (that is, no data) or a zero-length string (a pair of double quotation marks with no space between them).
Video Tutorial on delete query
