>>Thanks Srdjan. I am hoping for quick solution where I could perhaps wrap the existing update routine. This routine already operates on free tables, not a database.
>
>I understood your post. Just wanted to warn you that in case you hv huge amount of data you might end up with the simillar pause/lock I described.
>Once you wrap free tables into transaction band by applying
>MakeTransactable() , perhaps the same thing might happen.
>(Aldough I never tried it.)
>
>This might be helpfull perhaps
>http://fox.wikis.com/wc.dll?Wiki~TransactionsAndBuffering~VFP
>
>There are code samples there that you might find usefull.
>
>HTH

Thanks Srdjan.

I have got a solution working using MAKETRANSACTABLE() and BEGIN - END TRANSACTION. I can crash the routine half way and no affect on the underlying databases. As a test I run the update routine in a VMWare virtual machine and just switch off the virtual machine without any adverse affect on the tables or indexes. Cool.