ACC: Replace Command Does Not Find Null Values

• Microsoft Access versions 2.0, 7.0, 97

SYMPTOMS

Novice: Requires knowledge of the user interface on single-user computers.

When you click the Replace command on the Edit menu, Microsoft Access does not locate any Null values even though they do exist in the table.

RESOLUTION

To replace Null values in a table, create and run an update query.

STATUS

This behavior is by design.

MORE INFORMATION

If you click Find on the Edit menu to search for Null values, the values are located correctly. It is only the Replace command that does not locate Null values.

NOTE: In Microsoft Access version 1.x, neither the Find nor the Replace command will locate Null values.

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

1. Open the sample database Northwind.mdb (or NWIND.MDB in version 2.0), and then open the Orders table in Datasheet view.

2. Position the insertion point in the first row of the Ship Region column.

3. On the Edit menu, click Replace.

4. In the Find What field, type "NULL" (without the quotation marks).

5. In the Replace With field, type "TEST" (without the quotation marks).

6. Click Find Next. Note that Microsoft Access does not locate any Null values in the field even though such values do exist.

REFERENCES

For more information about the Replace command, search the Help Index for "Replace," or ask the Microsoft Access 97 Office Assistant.