Notes for all methods
The following are equivalent in most cases:
strSQL = "UPDATE tblEmployees SET tblEmployees.City = ""Bellevue"""
strSQL = "UPDATE tblEmployees SET tblEmployees.City = 'Bellevue'"

Exaggerated for clarity: = ' Bellevue ' "
Use Chr(34) instead, if there is any chance that a text value being updated includes an apostrophe. For
example:
Dim strLastName As String
strLastName = "O'Malley" '<---An apostrophe is a reserved character in SQL statements.
strSQL = "UPDATE Employees SET Employees.LastName = " _
& Chr(34) & strLastName & Chr(34) & " WHERE EmployeeID = 1"
Additional Information:
Action queries: suppressing dialogs, while knowing results
http://allenbrowne.com/ser-60.html
Error message: Too few parameters, expected n
http://www.mvps.org/access/queries/qry0013.htm
Option Compare Database
Option Explicit
Sub Test1()
' Will produce a warning if the user's setting, under Tools > Options
' on the Edit/Find tab includes confirming Action Queries
DoCmd.RunSQL "UPDATE tblEmployees SET tblEmployees.City = ""Renton"""
End Sub
Sub Test2()
' Includes turning off warnings and then immediately turning warnings
' back on. Note: Warnings will not be turned on if the DoCmd.RunSQL
' statement fails for any reason, such as a table being renamed!
DoCmd.SetWarnings False
DoCmd.RunSQL "UPDATE tblEmployees SET tblEmployees.City = ""Seattle"""
DoCmd.SetWarnings True
End Sub
Sub Test3()
On Error GoTo ProcError
' Same as above, but warnings will always be turned back on in the error
' handling code. This is an example of how error handling procedures can
' help prevent problems.
DoCmd.SetWarnings False
DoCmd.RunSQL "UPDATE tblEmployees SET tblEmployees.City = ""Tukwila"""
DoCmd.SetWarnings True
' Additional code can be inserted here after re-enabling warnings
ExitProc:
DoCmd.SetWarnings True
Exit Sub
ProcError:
MsgBox "Error: " & Err.Number & ". " & Err.Description, _
vbInformation, "Error in Test3 Procedure..."
Resume ExitProc
End Sub
Sub Test4()
On Error GoTo ProcError
' This method uses DAO. It requires a reference set to the
' Microsoft DAO 3.x Object Library (Access 97 --> 3.51, Access 2000+ --> 3.6).
Dim db As DAO.Database
Dim strSQL As String
Set db = CurrentDb()
strSQL = "UPDATE tblEmployees SET tblEmployees.City = ""Lynnwood"""
db.Execute strSQL, dbFailOnError
MsgBox db.RecordsAffected & " records were updated.", vbInformation, _
"Your message box title goes here"
ExitProc:
' Cleanup
set db=Nothing
Exit Sub
ProcError:
MsgBox "Error: " & Err.Number & ". " & Err.Description, _
vbInformation, "Error in Test4 Procedure..."
Resume ExitProc
End Sub
Special notes for Sub Test4()
dbFailOnError is an optional parameter but, if specified, requires that a reference be set to the DAO
Object Library.
You can use CurrentDB.execute, instead of declaring and setting the db object variable. This allows you
to get away without a reference set to the DAO Object Library, as long as you are not using the optional
dbFailOnError parameter. In addition, you cannot display the number of records affected, since
CurrentDB will lose its scope.
Sub Test4b()
On Error GoTo ProcError
Dim strSQL As String
strSQL = "UPDATE tblEmployees SET tblEmployees.City = ""Lynnwood"""
CurrentDB.Execute strSQL
ExitProc:
Exit Sub
ProcError:
MsgBox "Error: " & Err.Number & ". " & Err.Description, _
vbInformation, "Error in Test4b Procedure..."
Resume ExitProc
End Sub
Sub Test5()
' This method uses ADO. It requires a reference set to the Microsoft ActiveX
' Data Objects 2.x Library (2.1 is the default library for Access 2000).
On Error GoTo ProcError
Dim strSQL As String
Dim lngRecordsAffected As Long
strSQL = "UPDATE tblEmployees SET tblEmployees.City = ""Bellevue"""
CurrentProject.Connection.Execute strSQL, lngRecordsAffected, adCmdText
MsgBox lngRecordsAffected & " records were successfully updated.", vbInformation
ExitProc:
Exit Sub
ProcError:
MsgBox "Error: " & Err.Number & ". " & Err.Description, _
vbInformation, "Error in Test5 Procedure..."
Resume ExitProc
End Sub