PRB: Field's Caption Property Overrides Its Query Alias

Article ID: Q127973
Creation Date: 22-MAR-1995
Revision Date: 01-DEC-1996

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Access versions 2.0, 7.0, 97

SYMPTOMS

Novice: Requires knowledge of the user interface on single-user computers.

You run a query that contains a field with an alias, but the field's alias is not displayed. Instead, you see the Caption property for the field.

CAUSE

In a query, the Caption property for a field in a table takes precedence over the field's alias.

RESOLUTION

To override the Caption property, set the field's Caption property in the query to the alias you want to use. To do this, click the field in the query grid, click Properties on the View menu, and enter the alias in the Caption property field.

MORE INFORMATION

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

 1. Open the sample database Northwind.mdb (or NWIND.MDB in version 2.0).

 2. Create a new table with one field with the following properties:

       Table: My_Table
       --------------------------
       Field Name: Test1
          Data Type: Text
          Caption: MyTableCaption

 3. Save the table as My_Table. When you are prompted to create a primary
    key, choose No. Close the table.

 4. Select the My_Table table in the Database window.

 5. Create a new query based on the new table. On the Insert menu, click
    Query (or in version 2.0, on the File menu, click New, and then
    Query). In the New Query dialog box, select Design View (or in version
    2.0, click the New Query button). The new query opens in Design view
    with the My_Table field list displayed.

 6. Double-click the Test1 field in the field list. Note that the field
    appears in the query design grid.

 7. Create an alias for the Test1 field by typing "MyQueryAlias:" (without
    the quotation marks) at the beginning of the field name "Test1" in the
    query design grid.

 9. Run the query. Note that the column heading is MyTableCaption, the
    field's Caption property in the table, instead of the alias you
    created in step 8.

On the View menu, click Query Design. Click the Test1 field in the
    query design grid. On the View menu, click Properties. Set the Caption
    property to "MyQueryCaption" (without the quotation marks).

Run the query. Note that the field column heading is the caption set in
    the query field properties.

REFERENCES

For more information about the Caption property, search the Help Index for "Caption property," or ask the Microsoft Access 97 Office Assistant.

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