Specifying Multiple Criteria in Reports

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Before you start to use multiple selection criteria it is vital that you understand how the Report Builder will interpret the criteria. Mistakes in the construction of criteria are one of the biggest sources of confusion on ALL reporting tools.

Implied AND between Columns

If the criteria is for a different field, then you enter the criteria under that field. The system will imply an AND between the columns. For example:


Field	Title	Last Name
Criteria	='President'	Like 'A%'

Select the records where the title is equal to President AND the Last Name begins with A.


Field	Title	Last Name	First Name
Criteria	='President'	Like 'A%'	Like 'A%'

Select the records where the title is equal to President AND the Last Name begins with A AND the First name begins with A.

Or Between Rows

If you enter a second set of criteria for the same field in a second criteria row, the system will use an OR to select the records. For example:


Field	Title
Criteria	='President'
OR	Like 'VP%'

Select all the records where the title is equal to President OR starting with the letters VP.


Field	Title	Last Name
Criteria	='President'	Like 'A%'
OR	Like 'VP%'

Select all the records where the title is equal to President AND where the last name starts with A, OR any last name, with a title starting with the letters 'VP'.