# ActiveRecord: how to preload just a column of a child

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/activerecord-how-to-preload-just-a-column-of-a-child/116920>\
**Category:** Rails\
**Created:** [October 11, 2007, 7:21am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/activerecord-how-to-preload-just-a-column-of-a-child/116920 "2007-10-11T07:21:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![donut](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/e19adc/32.png) [@donut](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/donut)\
**Post date:** [October 11, 2007, 7:21am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/activerecord-how-to-preload-just-a-column-of-a-child/116920/1 "2007-10-11T07:21:16Z")

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The find() method has a :include option to preload its children.  
However, when I do something like this:

Article.find(:all, :include =\> [comments, :user])

The above call returns all the columns of both ‘user’ and ‘comments’,  
and all of the article’s comments objects. I’d like to optimize it so  
that it only returns comments.count and the field user.name in a single  
find call with :include. Can that be done?

Thanks.