Thanks for the quick reply ... (why wasn't it in Russian?).
I normally use the asterisk but another developer friend *always* uses the &string ... said there was some advantage, but he couldn't remember the reason. If once comes to mind ... thanks.
(And have the VB programmer that's left so much time on your hands today finished that form yet?)
Ernie Veniegas
Micro System Solutions
... sensible software by design