SQL SELECT INTO Statement

The SQL SELECT INTO statement can be used to create backup copies of tables.

The SQL SELECT INTO Statement

The SELECT INTO statement selects data from one table and inserts it into a different table.

The SELECT INTO statement is most often used to create backup copies of tables.

SQL SELECT INTO Syntax

We can select all columns into the new table:

SELECT *
INTO new_table_name [IN externaldatabase] 
FROM old_tablename

Or we can select only the columns we want into the new table:

SELECT column_name(s)
INTO new_table_name [IN externaldatabase] 
FROM old_tablename

SQL SELECT INTO Example

Make a Backup Copy - Now we want to make an exact copy of the data in our "Persons" table.

We use the following SQL statement:

SELECT *
INTO Persons_Backup
FROM Persons

We can also use the IN clause to copy the table into another database:

SELECT *
INTO Persons_Backup IN 'Backup.mdb'
FROM Persons

We can also copy only a few fields into the new table:

SELECT LastName,FirstName
INTO Persons_Backup
FROM Persons

SQL SELECT INTO - With a WHERE Clause

We can also add a WHERE clause.

The following SQL statement creates a "Persons_Backup" table with only the persons who lives in the city "Sandnes":

SELECT LastName,Firstname
INTO Persons_Backup
FROM Persons
WHERE City='Sandnes'

SQL SELECT INTO - Joined Tables

Selecting data from more than one table is also possible.

The following example creates a "Persons_Order_Backup" table contains data from the two tables "Persons" and "Orders":

SELECT Persons.LastName,Orders.OrderNo
INTO Persons_Order_Backup
FROM Persons
INNER JOIN Orders
ON Persons.P_Id=Orders.P_Id

Get Your Diploma! W3Schools' Online Certification Program is the perfect solution for busy professionals who need to balance work, family, and career building. The HTML Certificate is for developers who want to document their knowledge of HTML, XHTML, and CSS. The JavaScript Certificate is for developers who want to document their knowledge of JavaScript and the HTML DOM. The XML Certificate is for developers who want to document their knowledge of XML, XML DOM and XSLT. The ASP Certificate is for developers who want to document their knowledge of ASP, SQL, and ADO. The PHP Certificate is for developers who want to document their knowledge of PHP and SQL (MySQL).