The SQL INSERT INTO SELECT Statement
The INSERT INTO SELECT statement is used to copy data from an existing table and insert it into another existing table.
The INSERT INTO SELECT statement requires that the data types in source and target tables match.
Note
The existing records in the target table are unaffected.
INSERT INTO SELECT Syntax
Copy all columns from one table to another table:
INSERT INTO
target_table
SELECT * FROM
source_table
WHERE
condition
;Note
If you omit the column names, the number and order of columns in the source and target tables must be exactly the same!
Copy only some columns from one table to another table:
INSERT INTO
target_table
(
column1
,
column2
,
column3
, ...)
SELECT
column1
,
column2
,
column3
, ...
FROM
source_table
WHERE
condition
;Demo Database
Below is a selection from the "Customers" table:
| CustomerID | CustomerName | ContactName | Address | City | PostalCode | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alfreds Futterkiste | Maria Anders | Obere Str. 57 | Berlin | 12209 | Germany |
| 2 | Ana Trujillo Emparedados y helados | Ana Trujillo | Avda. de la Constitución 2222 | México D.F. | 05021 | Mexico |
| 3 | Antonio Moreno TaquerÃa | Antonio Moreno | Mataderos 2312 | México D.F. | 05023 | Mexico |
And a selection from the "Suppliers" table:
| SupplierID | SupplierName | ContactName | Address | City | Postal Code | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Exotic Liquid | Charlotte Cooper | 49 Gilbert St. | Londona | EC1 4SD | UK |
| 2 | New Orleans Cajun Delights | Shelley Burke | P.O. Box 78934 | New Orleans | 70117 | USA |
| 3 | Grandma Kelly's Homestead | Regina Murphy | 707 Oxford Rd. | Ann Arbor | 48104 | USA |
Example
Copy "Suppliers" into "Customers" (the columns that are not filled with data, will contain NULL):
INSERT INTO Customers (CustomerName,
City, Country)
SELECT SupplierName, City, Country FROM Suppliers;Example
Copy "Suppliers" into "Customers" (copy all columns):
INSERT INTO Customers
SELECT * FROM Suppliers;Example
Copy only the German suppliers into "Customers":
INSERT INTO Customers (CustomerName,
City, Country)
SELECT SupplierName, City, Country FROM Suppliers
WHERE Country='Germany';