Tim,

>The AppDesktop includes this reference to the factory
>

>static Factory factory = (Factory)mmAppBase.Factory;
>

This static field is the problem. In .NET, fields (class-level variables) are set before the constructor of the class fires. So this is a timing issue. At the point where the above code executes, the Factory has not yet been instaniated. You need to set the value of the factory field in the constructor of AppDesktop. For example:

static Factory factory;

public AppDesktop()
{
    factory = (Factory)mmAppBase.Factory;
}

Best Regards,