Filter records by entering criteria in place in a form or datasheet

1. Open a table, query, or form in Datasheet view, or a form in Form view.

   To filter records in a subdatasheet, first click the expand indicator to display that subdatasheet.

2. Do one of the following:
   • To specify the exact field value you want the filtered records to contain, right-click in the field in the datasheet, subdatasheet, form, or subform you're filtering, and then in the Filter For box on the shortcut menu, type the value. For example, to find all the records that have London in the City field, right-click in the City field, and then type London in the Filter For box.
     
     
   • To specify more complex criteria, type the complete expression using the appropriate combination of identifiers, operators, wildcard characters, and values to produce the result you want. For example, to find all the records where the Contact Title field includes the word "Marketing" anywhere in the title, right-click in the Contact Title field, and then type *Marketing* in the Filter For box. To display only the records for orders that were shipped more than 15 days after the specified required date, type [ShippedDate]-[RequiredDate]>15. (In this last example, you don't have to right-click a specific field to enter the expression. However, in a datasheet with subdatasheets, first click in the sheet you want to filter.)

     For examples of criteria expressions, click . For more information on wildcard characters, click .

3. Do one of the following:
   • To apply the filter and close the shortcut menu, press ENTER.
     
     
   • To apply the filter and keep the shortcut menu displayed (so that you can specify additional criteria for the field), press TAB. Enter new criteria, and then press TAB again. Repeat until you have just the records you want.

Notes

• When you save a table or form, Microsoft Access saves the filters you created. You can reapply the filters when you need them, the next time you open the table or form.
  
  
• When you save a query, Microsoft Access saves the filters you created, but it does not add the filter criteria to the query design grid. You can reapply the filters after you run the query, the next time you open it.