Designing Queries

The Microsoft^® Visual Database Tools™ Query Designer uses visual design tools to create SQL statements to query or update databases.

To	See
Read about the user interface for the Query Designer	Query Designer Layout
Learn about what types of queries you can create in the Query Designer and how you can use them to retrieve, copy, and modify data	Supported Query Types
Read about the basic steps involved in creating any type of query	Creating a Query
Move around in the different panes of the Query Designer	Navigating in the Query Designer
Use data in different languages in the Query Designer	Using Query Designer With International Data

What You Can Do in the Query Designer

Using the Query Designer, you can:

Create queries to retrieve data from any ODBC-compliant database.
Specify elements, such as which tables (or views) and columns to display, how to order query results, and what values to search for.
Note In Oracle you can use synonyms as well. For details, see Query Designer Considerations for Oracle Databases.
Preview query results in the Results pane.
Join tables to create multi-table queries.
Edit databases directly by updating, inserting, or deleting rows.
Create queries that modify a database by updating, adding, or deleting rows, or by copying rows.
Create special-purpose queries, such as parameter queries in which search values are provided when the query is executed.

If you are familiar with SQL, you can also enter SQL statements directly or edit the SQL statements created by the Query Designer.