How to Use Left Join MS Access

Updated on:

May 12, 2026

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Use this interactive demo to learn how to set up a Left Join query in MS Access.

Quick summary

A Left Join in MS Access lets you retrieve all records from a primary table and only matching records from a secondary table, ensuring no data is lost from the left table. Using Query Design, you can configure this join type visually in just a few steps without writing SQL manually.

Steps

Go to the Create tab in the ribbon.
Click Query Design.
Select the tables you want to join from the list and click Add Selected Tables.
Drag a field from the left (primary) table to the related field in the right (secondary) table to create a join line.
Right-click the join line between the tables and select Join Properties.
Select the option to include all records from the left table and only matching records from the right table.
Click OK to confirm the join type.
Drag the fields you want to display into the query grid.
Click the Run button to see the Left Join query results.

📌 Why this matters

A Left Join in MS Access is essential for database queries where you need to return all records from a primary table regardless of whether a match exists in a related table. This is a foundational technique for identifying missing relationships, such as customers with no orders or products with no sales. Mastering Left Join in Access Query Design enables analysts and developers to build more complete, accurate reports without writing raw SQL. Understanding this join type is critical for anyone working with relational databases in Microsoft Access.

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