How to Change a Date Format in Access Query

Your Microsoft Access database is likely full of hundreds of columns and rows of information. It can be hard to search for exactly what you want when in table view. Use Access queries instead to make tables featuring only the dates you want to see. The default date format uses the number system, but you can change it to list the day of the week and to write out the month. This can improve the way the search results look when you print them off for reports and presentations.

Instructions

1. Open the database from the File menu in Microsoft Access.

2. Choose "Query Design" from the "Create" menu. Click the name of the table you want to query and press the "Add" button. Close the "Show Query" window.

3. Place your cursor in the "Field" text box in the query design pane at the bottom of the window. Add an expression here that will format the date of the query output. For instance, 'PerformanceDate: Format(Date(), "dddd, mmm d yyyy")' will produce a column called "PerformanceDate" with dates formatted like "Thursday, March 3 2010."

4. Add query criteria in the "Criteria" field. 'Date()' will return any table content with today's date while 'Not #12/21/2010#' will return dates that don't use the listed date. For more search criteria options, visit the Microsoft Access website (see Resources).

5. Click the "Run" button on the left side of the "Design" menu to see your queried table. You can also do this by right-clicking on the query tab and choosing "Datasheet View."

References

• Microsoft Office: Format Date and Time Values
• Dummies.com: Creating a Calculated Field with Access 2007

Resources

• Microsoft Office: Examples of Query Criteria