The BuildCriteria method returns a parsed criteria string as it would appear in the query design grid, in Filter By Form or Server Filter By Form mode. For example, you may want to set a form's Filter or ServerFilter property based on varying criteria from the user. You can use the BuildCriteria method to construct the string expression argument for the Filter or ServerFilter property.
Syntax
application.BuildCriteria(field, fieldtype, expression)
The BuildCriteria method has the following arguments.
| Argument | Description |
|---|---|
| application | (Optional) The Application object. |
| field | A string expression identifying the field for which you wish to define criteria. |
| fieldtype | An intrinsic constant denoting the data type of the field. For a list of possible field data types, see the ADO Type property. |
| expression | A string expression identifying the criteria to be parsed. |
The BuildCriteria method returns a string.
Remarks
The BuildCriteria method enables you to easily construct criteria for a filter based on user input. It parses the expression argument in the same way that the expression would be parsed had it been entered in the query design grid, in Filter By Form or Server Filter By Form mode.
For example, a user creating a query on an Orders table might restrict the result set to orders placed after January 1, 1995, by setting criteria on an OrderDate field. The user might enter an expression such as the following one in the Criteria row beneath the OrderDate field:
>1-1-95
Microsoft Access automatically parses this expression and returns the following expression:
>#1/1/95#
The BuildCriteria method provides the same parsing from Visual Basic code. For example, to return the preceding correctly parsed string, you can supply the following arguments to the BuildCriteria method:
Dim strCriteria As String
strCriteria = BuildCriteria("OrderDate", dbDate, ">1-1-95")Since you need to supply criteria for the Filter property in correctly parsed form, you can use the BuildCriteria method to construct a correctly parsed string.
You can use the BuildCriteria method to construct a string with multiple criteria if those criteria refer to the same field. For example, you can use the BuildCriteria method with the following arguments to construct a string with multiple criteria relating to the OrderDate field:
strCriteria = BuildCriteria("OrderDate", dbDate, ">1-1-95 and <5-1-95")This example returns the following criteria string:
OrderDate>#1/1/95# And OrderDate<#5/1/95#
However, if you wish to construct a criteria string that refers to multiple fields, you must create the strings and concatenate them yourself. For example, if you wish to construct criteria for a filter to show records for orders placed after 1-1-95 and for which freight is less than $50, you would need to use the BuildCriteria method twice and concatenate the resulting strings.