You can't have a default value appear when you use a simple parameter query.
However, you can do the following
NZ([Enter Nominal Code; blank = "Alpha Bear"],"Alpha Bear")
What that does is set the criteria to "Alpha Bear if the user doesn't input
anything. It won't show in dialog box.
If you want the capability of showing the value, then you are going to need
to create a form and use controls on the form to get your values. Add a
button on the form to call the query (or a report or a form).
Check out this article for a detailed discussion.
http://www.fontstuff.com/access/acctut08.htm
A brief quote from an John Vinson (Access MVP) posting.
You'll need to create a small unbound Form (let's call it frmCriteria) with
a Combo Box control (cboCrit) on it. Use the combo box wizard to select the
table for the selections, and be
sure that the bound field of the combo is the value you want to use as a
criterion. Save this form.
Now use
=[Forms]![frmCriteria]![cboCrit]
as the criterion in your Query.
It's convenient to base a second Form or Report on the resulting query to
display the results; if you put a button on frmCriteria to launch that form
or report, the user can enter the criterion and view the results in one
simple operation!
End Quoting John Vinson
