Using Wild Card Characters

The Like operator that you use in a query's Criteria row compares values to a pattern that usually includes wild card characters.  These characters are placeholders, either for 1 character or for an unknown number of characters.

Use the character:	Matches in an expression:
? or _ (underscore)	Any single character
* or %	Zero or more characters
#	Any single digit (0 — 9)
[listofcharacters]	Any single character in listofcharacters
[!listofcharacters]	Any single character not in listofcharacters

Examples:

Like "A*" - values that start with the letter A

Like "A????" -values that start with A but have exactly 5 characters

Like "A[d,p]*" - values that start with Ad or Ap

Like "##QR#*" - values that start with 2 digits, then the letters QR, then another digit, followed by any number of other characters. For example, the registration code for a copy of Windows 95 that comes with a new computer has the form #####-OEM-########-#####, where OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer.