find missing records

[VJ-mike]

I'd do a make table query that combined the two tables.
Start with a regular query that has the two tables with
their relationship indicated (link salesrep to salesrep).
then in the grid add the salesrep field, and the RepAlias
field from both tables. Access will automatically ad a
(1) or something on the end of the duplicate field to make
it unique.

Run the query

if you like it and want to make a table from it just
change it to a maketable query by selecting the query type
tool up by the main menu. it will lead you through the
rest.

mike c.

-----Original Message-----
Hello,
To simplify my question, I'll state it this way. Let's say that I have two tables.

Table 1 contains two fields, SalesRep and RepAlias. In

this table, all the RepAlias fields are blank (null).

Table 2 contains the same two fields. In this table, both fields contain data.

What I want to do is update the RepAlias field in Table 1

with the RepAlias field from Table 2 where the SalesRep
matches. I know how to do this. However, I want to
check to make sure that no SalesReps were not updated (if
they weren't in Table 2).

To do that, I could just run a Select query on Table 1

after the update completes to look for any null RepAlias
fields. However, Table 1 is huge and it takes a long time
to update. I'd rather know ahead of time if there are any
SalesReps in Table 1 that are NOT found in Table 2. That
way I can correct the issue before updating the data.

What's the easiest way to get a list of SalesReps that

exist in Table 1, but don't exist in Table 2?