>Thanks Dragan. Until recently I have made backups using batch files that call batch files that call pkzipC, and finally I am doing something in VFP which is obviously much easier to maintain. (Inertia is a terrible thing). Naturally, with VFP it is not necessary (or good) to use a command line zip routine. I'm going to use Dynazip which I use in other places. So thanks to all who helped, in particular to Anatoliy. Your idea seems interesting though I never got to it.

I had to develop this because the powers at the time didn't want to shell out the money for DynaZip, so I had to make do with the freebie. By the time pkzipc came out, I have already used this in a dozen places, and don't feel like switching to the next version just for upgrade's sake.