Query on a table with lookup columns doesn't work

Question

What I have
I've got 2 lists (listA, listB). In listA there are several lookup columns to listB.

What I want to do
I want to create a query that updates a field in all items in listA from 'empty' to '1'. The field is not a lookup.

The problem
I have to fetch listB, otherwise I get an error when I run the query. But when both lists are imported I get the following error while running the query:
"The Microsoft Access database engine encountered an error while communicating with SharePoint. More detailed information: 'The query cannot be completed because the number of lookup columns it contains exceeds the lookup column threshold enforced by the administrator.'"

I don't understand why the number of lookups would be an issue since the query doesn't influance them. Is there any way to solve it?

Thanks!
Ania

Answer 1

I want to create a query that updates a field in all items in listA from 'empty' to '1'. The field is not a lookup.

Instead of converting current column field values, you could create a new calculated column with a formula which references the column you'd get the values from.

If your columns have 'empty' in their inputs (as in a form of texts), then the formula would be something like

=IF([Column]="empty","1",[Column])

and if by 'empty' you mean actually blank values, then the formula would follow the logic of

=IF(ISBLANK([Column]),"1",[Column])

With ISBLANK the first output is (in here 1) used if the column is blank and the second if the column is not blank.

You can learn more about calculated columns at Microsoft's Calculated Field Formulas and Examples of common formulas in SharePoint Lists articles.