ACC: Find N Records in Random Order

This article shows you how to shuffle the records in a table in random order. It also shows you how to get <n> records from a table at random (where <n> is the number of records that you want). You can use this method to make sure that the records will never be repeated.

To shuffle the records in a table, create a query based on that table and all its necessary fields. Add a calculated field that contains the Rnd() function with a positive integer variable parameter. Then, sort by this calculated field. Every time you evaluate the query, the records will be shuffled.

To get <n> records at random, set the query's TopValues property to the number of records you want.

The Rnd() function requires a numeric argument to return a random number. If the argument is greater than zero, the next random number in the sequence is returned. Because of the way queries are optimized, if you create a calculated field with a numeric argument such as

the query calculates the Rnd() function once and then repeats the same value throughout the recordset. To avoid the repetition, create a calculated field with a variable numeric argument. For example, if the table has an Employee ID field, you can use the following expression as the variable numeric argument:

If the table does not have a numeric field, write an expression such as the following to calculate a numeric value based on any other field:

The Rnd() function ignores the expression, but the variable nature of the argument forces the query to evaluate the Rnd() function for every record.

For more information about returning a random record please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

108435  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/108435/EN-US/ ) ACC: Sample Function to Return a Random Record

For more information about the TopValues property, search for "TopValues," and then "TopValues Property" using the Microsoft Access 97 Help Index.