Hide, Remove, and Sort Fields

There are many ways that you can work with your fields in a query. You can hide fields from appearing in a query's results, change how they will appear, or remove them altogether.

Create a Query

To see how these things work, first create a query to work with.

1. Display the Query Design view.
   

   You can also open a query in Design view by right-clicking the query object in the Navigation Pane and selecting Design View. Or, click the Design View button in the Status bar.

2. Select the tables that you want to use in your query and click Close.
   

   Now add the fields that you want to use in the query.

3. Double-click each field that you want to add to the query.

   You can add every field from a table in a query by adding the asterisk (*) symbol at the top of a field list.

   

Hide Fields

You can hide a field if you want it to be in a query but don't want it to be displayed in the query's results.

1. Uncheck the Show box for the field that you want to hide.
   

The field will no longer appear in the query's results.

Remove Fields

You can easily remove a field from a query if you no longer need them.

1. Select the text in the Field cell for the field you want to delete and press Delete.
   

The field is removed from your query.

Sort a Query

Tables normally display records in the order they were entered. Instead of working with a table's jumbled record order, you can create a simple query that sorts the table information and presents it in an ordered, easy-to-read display.

1. Click the row that you want to sort by.
2. Click the Sort arrow for the field that you want to sort the table by.
3. Select a sort order.
4. Repeat Steps 1-3 to sort by additional fields.

   If you want to use a field to sort the table, but you don't want that field to appear, you can deselect its Show box.

5. Save and run the query.
   

Access displays the results of the query.