Lesson 11	Using multiple criteria
Objective	Use multiple criteria to limit the results of a query.

Using Multiple Criteria in Microsoft Access 365

In many real-world situations, a single criterion is not enough to narrow a query to the records you truly care about. You may want to limit results to a specific client and a particular date range, or show records that match one company or another. In Microsoft Access 365, you use multiple criteria and logical operators to express these conditions in the query design grid.

Logical Operators in Queries

When you use more than one criterion, you must tell Access how those criteria should work together. This is done with logical operators - primarily AND, OR, and NOT.

The table below summarizes the most common logical operators:

Operator	How it works
Logical Operators
AND	Returns records only when all criteria are true for that record.
OR	Returns records when at least one of the criteria is true.
NOT	Returns records where the specified criterion is false.

AND is the more restrictive operator because all conditions must be satisfied. OR is more permissive, because a record is shown if it satisfies any one of the listed conditions.

Multiple Criteria in a Single Row (AND logic)

When you place criteria for more than one field in the same row of the query design grid, Access interprets them with AND logic. That means a record must satisfy every criterion on that row to appear in the datasheet.

Single-row criteria example — `Field: Company Date Due Date Table: Clients Hours Projects Sort: Ascending Show: Yes Yes Yes Criteria: "Network Consultants," < #8/31/99# Or:`
In this example, a record is returned only if:

**Company** equals `"Network Consultants,"`, and

**Date** is earlier than `#8/31/99#`.

Both conditions must be true for the row to be included in the query results.

Using OR Rows in the Query Grid

When you want to express OR conditions—such as “this client or that client,” or “before this date or after that date”—you use the Or rows in the query design grid.

Access treats criteria as follows:

Criteria on the same row → combined with AND (the record must satisfy all conditions on that row).
Criteria on different rows (Criteria vs. Or, Or vs. next Or) → combined with OR (the record may satisfy any one row of conditions).

Multiple Or rows in query design — `+-----------+---------+-----------+ | Field | Table | Sort | +-----------+---------+-----------+ | Company | Clients | (none) | | Date | Hours | Ascending | | Due Date | Projects| (none) | +-----------+---------+-----------+ Criteria and Or rows are used to combine conditions across these fields.`
In the full design grid (not shown here), criteria placed on the **Criteria** row and additional lines on the Or rows allow you to express combinations such as:

Company = "Network Consultants," AND Date < #8/31/99#

OR Company = "ABC Webworks"

OR Due Date < #9/30/99#

Each row (Criteria and Or) represents one group of conditions that must all be true for that row. Access returns any record that satisfies *at least one* of these rows.

How Multiple Criteria Are Evaluated

The grid can be summarized as:

Across a row: criteria are joined with AND.
Down the grid (Criteria row followed by Or rows): each row is joined with OR.

For example:

Row 1 (Criteria):  Company = "Network Consultants,"   AND   Date < #8/31/99#
Row 2 (Or):        Company = "ABC Webworks"
Row 3 (Or):        Due Date < #9/30/99#

A record will be included if:

It meets both conditions on Row 1, OR
It meets the condition on Row 2, OR
It meets the condition on Row 3.

This combination allows you to express powerful filters using only the design grid—no manual SQL required.

Putting It All Together

To use multiple criteria effectively in Microsoft Access 365:

Decide which conditions must all be true together (place these on the same row).
Decide which conditions represent alternative scenarios (place these on separate Or rows).
Switch to Datasheet View to test your logic and confirm that only the intended records are returned.

By understanding how AND and OR work within the design grid, you can build precise filters that return exactly the data your query needs.

Matching Access Criteria - Quiz

Test your understanding of logical operators with this quiz.
Matching Access Criteria - Quiz