Every function in a relational database is performed with a query, including both the retrieval and alteration of data. Microsoft Access has nine types of queries, including select, append, delete, update and make table queries.
Select queries are used to retrieve specific data from database tables. Reports and forms that include data from multiple tables are based on select queries. Append, or insert, queries add records to the specified table, and one of these queries can add information to several tables at once. Similarly, delete queries can quickly remove many records from a table. Make table queries create another table with a given structure, and update queries change or add data to existing records.