Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In this lesson, we will walk through creating a multi-field customer search form in Microsoft Access that identifies which fields matched the user's search term. You will learn how to build a query that searches first name, last name, and notes fields, use conditional formatting with the InStr function to highlight matching text fields, and use VBA to load search results only after a search is entered.
Russell from Omaha, Nebraska (a Silver Member) asks I have a customer search that looks through several fields, and it does return the right records. But when someone searches for a word like "Smith," they can't tell whether it matched the customer's name, company, address, or notes without scanning the whole row. Can I make the reason each record matched more obvious?
Silver Members & up get access to an Extended Cut of this video. In the extended cut, we will learn how to search across related parent and child tables, including customer records and contact history. I will show you how to add a second search box to further filter related records, use more VBA and SQL directly in forms, and keep the parent-child relationship organized in the search results.
MEMBERS-ONLY EXTENDED CUT VIDEO:
youtu.be/sjC2zfTxkqw
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Introduction
02:52 Prerequisites
04:10 Create the Customer Search Form
07:45 Build the Multi-Field Search Query
13:14 Highlight Matching Fields with Conditional Formatting
16:32 Add VBA Search Automation
18:33 Add a Clear Search Button
21:56 Recommended Courses
22:34 Conclusion
BECOME A MEMBER:
YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCl7-jJie4ifOVK87FINIuDg/join
or My Site: 599cd.com/THMember
LEARN MORE:
Search Matches: 599cd.com/SearchMatches
PREREQUISITES:
Intro to VBA: 599cd.com/IntroVBA
Search Multiple Fields: 599cd.com/SearchMultipleFields
Conditional Formatting: 599cd.com/Conditional
Expression Is: 599cd.com/ExpressionIs
Record Source: 599cd.com/RecordSource
SQL with Access: 599cd.com/SQLwithAccess
Wildcard Search & Like: 599cd.com/Like
And Or Not: 599cd.com/AndOr
InStr Function: 599cd.com/InStr
LINKS:
Search Form 2.0: 599cd.com/SearchForm
Search As You Type: 599cd.com/SearchAsYouType
Dynamic Filtering: 599cd.com/DynamicFiltering
RECOMMENDED COURSES:
Access Search Seminar: 599cd.com/51ENK
Dynamic SQL Search Forms in Access Developer 26: 599cd.com/ACD26L
FREE TEMPLATE DOWNLOADS:
TechHelp Free Templates: 599cd.com/THFree
Blank Template: 599cd.com/Blank
Contact Management: 599cd.com/Contacts
Order Entry & Invoicing: 599cd.com/Invoicing
More Access Templates: 599cd.com/AccessTemplates
DIAMOND SPONSORS:
More info on our Sponsors: 599cd.com/DiamondSponsors
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
FREE Access Beginner Level 1: 599cd.com/Free1
How to Use Access in 30 Minutes: 599cd.com/30Minutes
$1 Access Level 2: 599cd.com/1Dollar
Donate to my Tip Jar: 599cd.com/TipJar
Merch Store! Get your swag here: 599cd.com/Merch
Get on my Mailing List: 599cd.com/YTML
Contact Me: 599cd.com/Contact
TechHelp: 599cd.com/TechHelp
Consulting Help: 599cd.com/DevNet
Twitter: twitter.com/LearningAccess
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Access
products.office.com/en-us/access
microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/access
KEYWORDS:
TechHelp, Access 2016, Access 2019, Access 2021, Access 2024, Access 365, Microsoft Access, MS Access, MS Access Tutorial, #msaccess, #microsoftaccess, #help, #howto, #tutorial, #learn, #lesson, #training, #database, multi-field search conditional formatting, highlight matching fields, search result highlighting, InStr function, wildcard search query, dynamic record source, search form VBA, SQL WHERE 1=0, multi-field search box, conditional formatting expression
QUESTIONS:
Please feel free to post your questions or comments below. Thanks.
Live long, and prosper.
In this lesson, we will walk through creating a multi-field customer search form in Microsoft Access that identifies which fields matched the user's search term. You will learn how to build a query that searches first name, last name, and notes fields, use conditional formatting with the InStr function to highlight matching text fields, and use VBA to load search results only after a search is entered.
Russell from Omaha, Nebraska (a Silver Member) asks I have a customer search that looks through several fields, and it does return the right records. But when someone searches for a word like "Smith," they can't tell whether it matched the customer's name, company, address, or notes without scanning the whole row. Can I make the reason each record matched more obvious?
Silver Members & up get access to an Extended Cut of this video. In the extended cut, we will learn how to search across related parent and child tables, including customer records and contact history. I will show you how to add a second search box to further filter related records, use more VBA and SQL directly in forms, and keep the parent-child relationship organized in the search results.
MEMBERS-ONLY EXTENDED CUT VIDEO:
youtu.be/sjC2zfTxkqw
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Introduction
02:52 Prerequisites
04:10 Create the Customer Search Form
07:45 Build the Multi-Field Search Query
13:14 Highlight Matching Fields with Conditional Formatting
16:32 Add VBA Search Automation
18:33 Add a Clear Search Button
21:56 Recommended Courses
22:34 Conclusion
BECOME A MEMBER:
YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCl7-jJie4ifOVK87FINIuDg/join
or My Site: 599cd.com/THMember
LEARN MORE:
Search Matches: 599cd.com/SearchMatches
PREREQUISITES:
Intro to VBA: 599cd.com/IntroVBA
Search Multiple Fields: 599cd.com/SearchMultipleFields
Conditional Formatting: 599cd.com/Conditional
Expression Is: 599cd.com/ExpressionIs
Record Source: 599cd.com/RecordSource
SQL with Access: 599cd.com/SQLwithAccess
Wildcard Search & Like: 599cd.com/Like
And Or Not: 599cd.com/AndOr
InStr Function: 599cd.com/InStr
LINKS:
Search Form 2.0: 599cd.com/SearchForm
Search As You Type: 599cd.com/SearchAsYouType
Dynamic Filtering: 599cd.com/DynamicFiltering
RECOMMENDED COURSES:
Access Search Seminar: 599cd.com/51ENK
Dynamic SQL Search Forms in Access Developer 26: 599cd.com/ACD26L
FREE TEMPLATE DOWNLOADS:
TechHelp Free Templates: 599cd.com/THFree
Blank Template: 599cd.com/Blank
Contact Management: 599cd.com/Contacts
Order Entry & Invoicing: 599cd.com/Invoicing
More Access Templates: 599cd.com/AccessTemplates
DIAMOND SPONSORS:
More info on our Sponsors: 599cd.com/DiamondSponsors
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
FREE Access Beginner Level 1: 599cd.com/Free1
How to Use Access in 30 Minutes: 599cd.com/30Minutes
$1 Access Level 2: 599cd.com/1Dollar
Donate to my Tip Jar: 599cd.com/TipJar
Merch Store! Get your swag here: 599cd.com/Merch
Get on my Mailing List: 599cd.com/YTML
Contact Me: 599cd.com/Contact
TechHelp: 599cd.com/TechHelp
Consulting Help: 599cd.com/DevNet
Twitter: twitter.com/LearningAccess
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Access
products.office.com/en-us/access
microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/access
KEYWORDS:
TechHelp, Access 2016, Access 2019, Access 2021, Access 2024, Access 365, Microsoft Access, MS Access, MS Access Tutorial, #msaccess, #microsoftaccess, #help, #howto, #tutorial, #learn, #lesson, #training, #database, multi-field search conditional formatting, highlight matching fields, search result highlighting, InStr function, wildcard search query, dynamic record source, search form VBA, SQL WHERE 1=0, multi-field search box, conditional formatting expression
QUESTIONS:
Please feel free to post your questions or comments below. Thanks.
Live long, and prosper.
