OK , back to square one... Try this and see: Regex isNumb=new Regex("[^0-9]"); string sqlStr= "Select * FROM DRUG_INFORMATION WHERE DrugName = '" + StrUserSearchValue + "'"; if (isNumb.IsMatch(StrUserSearchValue) ==false) sqlStr+= " or DrugNo =" + StrUserSearchValue; OleDbCommand cmd = new OleDbCommand(sqlStr, conn); reader = cmd.ExecuteReader(CommandBehavior.CloseConnection); You will have to include the following statement at top: using System.Text.RegularExpressions; Well, what we are doing here is to first find whether the search string is a Number or text. If number, then only we should include the "DrugNo = ?" criteria in the where clause of SQL query. hth -geo Nothing is impossible!

My passwordformat="clear" What value would I replace "clear" with to make the password concealed i.e.:*******, to the user?

The datagrid still disappears when I run the command. I have a read records method which before trying the code I gave, I was trying to call in the update method, but when I called it it took two attempts of the update button click for the grid to be updated. Below is that method, if it can be used? private void ReadRecords() { OleDbConnection conn = null; OleDbDataReader reader = null; try { conn = new OleDbConnection( @"Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0; " + @"Data Source=" + Server.MapPath("GeneralPractice/GeneralPractice.mdb")); conn.Open(); OleDbCommand cmd = new OleDbCommand("Select * FROM DIAGNOSIS", conn); reader = cmd.ExecuteReader(); DiagnosisListDataGrid.DataSource = reader; DiagnosisListDataGrid.DataKeyField = "DiagnosisNo"; DiagnosisListDataGrid.DataBind(); } // catch (Exception e) // { // Response.Write(e.Message); // Response.End(); // } finally { if (reader != null) reader.Close(); if (conn != null) conn.Close(); } } Thanks Rory

oh yeah it also uses access as the database. Cheers

I changed all cmd to OleDbCommand but they are still getting errors: 'System.Data.OleDb.OleDbCommand' denotes a 'class' where a 'variable' was expected An object reference is required for the nonstatic field, method, or property 'System.Data.OleDb.OleDbCommand.Parameters' Cheers for the suggestion, but no joy. Any other ideas??? Rory

I have implemented the code in a slightly different way shown below: private void DiagnosisListDataGrid_UpdateCommand(object source, System.Web.UI.WebControls.DataGridCommandEventArgs e) { int DiagnosisNo = (int) DiagnosisListDataGrid.DataKeys[(int) e.Item.ItemIndex]; string nino = ((TextBox)e.Item.Cells[3].Controls[0]).Text; string datetime = ((TextBox)e.Item.Cells[4].Controls[0]).Text; string details = ((TextBox)e.Item.Cells[5].Controls[0]).Text; string currentstatus = ((TextBox)e.Item.Cells[6].Controls[0]).Text; string sql = "UPDATE DIAGNOSIS SET NINo=@nino, [DateTime]=@datetime, Details=@details, CurrentStatus= " + " @currentstatus WHERE DiagnosisNo= @DiagnosisNo"; OleDbCommand cmd = new OleDbCommand(sql); cmd.Parameters.Add("@nino", nino); cmd.Parameters.Add("@datetime", datetime); cmd.Parameters.Add("@details", details); cmd.Parameters.Add("@currentstatus", currentstatus); ExecuteNonQuery(sql); DiagnosisListDataGrid.EditItemIndex = -1; ReadRecords(); } This has got rid of all the build errors but now when I attempt to use the update function in the browser, the following error is returned: Server Error in '/GP' Application. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No value given for one or more required parameters. Description: An unhandled exception occurred during the execution of the current web request. Please review the stack trace for more information about the error and where it originated in the code. Exception Details: System.Data.OleDb.OleDbException: No value given for one or more required parameters. Source Error: Line 148: OleDbCommand cmd = Line 149: new OleDbCommand(sql, conn); Line 150: cmd.ExecuteNonQuery(); Line 151: } Line 152: // catch (Exception e) Source File: c:\inetpub\wwwroot\gp\diagnosislist.aspx.cs Line: 150 Stack Trace: [OleDbException (0x80040e10): No value given for one or more required parameters.] System.Data.OleDb.OleDbCommand.ExecuteCommandTextErrorHandling(Int32 hr) +41 System.Data.OleDb.OleDbCommand.ExecuteCommandTextForSingleResult(tagDBPARAMS dbParams, Object& executeResult) +174 System.Data.OleDb.OleDbCommand.ExecuteCommandText(Object& executeResult) +92 System.Data.OleDb.OleDbCommand.ExecuteCommand(CommandBehavior behavior, Object& executeResult) +65 System.Data.OleDb.OleDbCommand.ExecuteReaderInternal(CommandBehavior behavior, String method) +112 System

Hi there, Working with a back-end database such as SQL or Access in an ASP.NET application is a common issue which you have to get familiar, however, it's not actually difficult to look for documentations,tips, examples as you said. In an ASP.NET application, you basically use ADO.NET to access data from Access, you can insert new records, update/delete existing records .... For more information on ADO.NET, you can see Accessing Data with ADO.NET[^] In addition, you can see Data Access Application Block[^] as an example where you can learn how to use ADO.NET as well. Also, CP, MSDN and Google are your good friends.

Thanks mark That worked a treat and saved me alot of stress and time, cheers again