You can use the Left() function in Access to reference a memo field and convert it to a string, though of course you'll be truncating it if its beyond the max length of a string (1K i think).
eg. MyString = Left(MyMemo,1024)
In SQL, simply refer to Left(MyMemo,1024); this will allow string operators to be applied to the expression.
HTH
Steve Lewy
Solutions Developer
steve@lewycomputing.com.au
(dont cut corners or you'll go round in circles)