Using Wildcard Characters in SQL: A Comprehensive Guide

Wildcard Characters in MS Access

Symbol	Description	Example
*	Represents zero or more characters	mu* finds mu, music, multiply, and mutton
?	Represents a single character	h?t finds hot, hat, and hit
[]	Represents any single character within the brackets	h[oa]t finds hot and hat, but not hit
!	Represents any character not in the brackets	h[!oa]t finds hit, but not hot and hat
-	Represents a range of characters	c[a-b]t finds cat and cbt
#	Represents any single numeric character	1#5 finds 105, 115, 125, 135, 145, 155, 165, 175, 185, and 195

Wildcard Characters in SQL Server

Symbol	Description	Example
%	Represents zero or more characters	mu% finds mu, music, multiply, and mutton
_	Represents a single character	h_t finds hot, hat, and hit
[]	Represents any single character within the brackets	h[oa]t finds hot and hat, but not hit
^	Represents any character not in the brackets	h[^oa]t finds hit, but not hot and hat
-	Represents a range of characters	c[a-b]t finds cat and cbt

Here are some examples showing different LIKE operators with '%' and '_' wildcards:

LIKE Operator	Description
WHERE CustomerName LIKE 'b%'	Finds any values that starts with "b"
WHERE CustomerName LIKE '%b'	Finds any values that ends with "b"
WHERE CustomerName LIKE '%or%'	Finds any values that have "or" in any position
WHERE CustomerName LIKE '_p%'	Finds any values that have "p" in the second position
WHERE CustomerName LIKE 'b_%_%'	Finds any values that starts with "b" and are at least 3 characters in length
WHERE ContactName LIKE 'b%o'	Finds any values that starts with "b" and ends with "o"

All the wildcards can also be used in combinations!