A left join is the default type for global joins. Use a left join to include all the records in the Parent table that meet the selection criteria and only those records in the Child table where the values in the fields you are joining are equal.
Example: You want a list of all opportunities whether or not they have associated activities. If the opportunity is associated with an activity, select it as well. The records shown in the Join Results column are returned by this query. The specific opportunity associated with an activity is indicated in parentheses to the right of the activity.
| Source | Selected | Join Results | |
|---|---|---|---|
| OPPORTUNITY table | ACTIVITY table | Opportunity1 | |
| Opportunity1 | Activity 1 | Opportunity2 | |
| Opportunity2 | Activity 2 | Opportunity3 | |
| Opportunity3 | Activity 3 | (Opportunity1) | Opportunity4 |
| Opportunity4 | Activity 4 | (Opportunity4) | Opportunity5 |
| Opportunity5 | Activity 5 | Activity 3 | |
| Activity 6 | (Opportunity5) | Activity 4 | |
| Activity 7 | (Opportunity1) | Activity 6 | |
| Activity 7 | |||