I agree VFP Help should be more definitive, that's why I bought Granor's Hacker's Guide. (Unfortunately?) My reply was based on experience and nothing in VFP Help. Based on that past experience, I continue to assume past experience still holds true [e.g., and INSERT will move the record pointer to that newly inserted record, UPDATE ... WHERE... will move pointer to EOF]

>Mark,
>
>I'm not so sure that VFP will only open a table for SQL when it is *not* already opened. I have heard it *BOTH* ways, and the Help doesn't seem clear to me on this at all.
>
>In addition, shouldn't the INSERT and UPDATE commands *also* state the actions taken by them. I doesn't follow in my mind that it would necessarily be the same as for SELECT-SQL..
>
>Cheers,
>
>Jim N
>
>snippage
>>
>>If the table is already open, VFP will not open it again when SQL is executed. If not open, VFP will open it for SQL execution.
>>
>>>Here's another GUESS. . .
>>>
>>>*IF* OPS is an alias already opened, then perhaps SQL-INSERT is using the (already) opened work area instead of opening it own.
>>>
>>>Possibly stating the file name in the INSERT (or UPDATE) command would make a difference??
>>>
>>>I use the opportunity to point out yet again that the VFP docs ought to tell us HOW these things are handled. Making up our own "rules" based on observation is just too risky!