Conditions - wildcards

Values entered when creating filters, or using runtime entry forms, and used with an operator of like, includes or use wildcard can contain wildcards to allow for pattern matching.

Acceptable wildcards are dependent on the database being used. This table shows the wildcards that are accepted by Microsoft SQL Server.

Wildcard Searches for Examples
'%' percentage Any string of zero or more characters

Mc% searches for all names that begin with the letters Mc (McAlister, McAlpine).

% ley will search for all names that end with 'ley' (Riley, Tisley).

% od% will search for all names that include the letters od ( Hodges, Bellwood).

Note: In SQL Server trailing blanks are ignored.
'_' underscore Any single character. __ward searches for all six letter names ending with ward (Haward, Seward).
'[ ]' square brackets Any single character within the specified range, for example '[a-f]', or the specified set, for example '[abcdef]'. [CK] ars [eo] n searches for all names that begin with C or K, followed by ars, then e or o and end with n (Carsen, Carson, Karsen, Karson).
'[^]' square brackets and caret Any single character not within the specified range, for example '[^a-f]', or the specified set, for example '[^abcdef]'. M[^a-n]% searches for all names that begin with the letter M and do not have the letters a to n as a second letter (Mortali, Murphy).