Delete Query Tutorial

The Delete query in MS Access SQL command used to remove one or more rows of data from a relational database table.  The number of rows deleted is dependent upon the existence and criteria within the where clause of the delete query.

The basic syntax of the Access Delete query is:

Delete Table Name.* From Table Name Where some criteria;

Note that using an Access delete query without the where clause will delete all rows from the specified table.

The asterisk in Table Name.* is a wildcard character and refers to all fields within the table.  You may only delete entire records rather than values in particular fields therefore the asterisk is mandatory.

If Table Name is a table which is defined as the master of a master-detail relationship and the cascade delete property of the relationship is set to true then corresponding records in the detail table will also be deleted.

The delete method is often preferable to the drop table method, which completely removes the table from the database, because all of the characteristics of the table remain intact - such as the indexes, relationships and primary keys.

Now with real column and table names:

Delete *  From M_Employees Where  Emp_Name = "Joe";

The above query will delete all employees with an employee name of Joe.

More Access Delete Query Examples:

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