>what is the function for the begining of the month?
>eg: for this month, I want to have 04-01-2008 (01 April)
>
>How to make sure the text is a valid file name?
>eg: user can decide what file name for the backup, such as: Mar08
>I want to make sure the name entered is a valid file name, not the name Mar'08
>
>thanks for the help
>
>Jerry

To get the First Day of the Month you can use

DATE() - DAY(DATE()) + 1

For the file name you might try something like

FUNCTION isLegalFileName
LPARAMETERS tcFile
lnHandle = FCREATE(tcFile + ".@@@XXX")  
&& FCREATE will overwrite existing file so force an extension which won't exist
IF lnHandle > 0    && Legal File
    =FCLOSE(lnHandle)
    DELETE FILE (tcFile + ".@@@XXX")
    RETURN .T.
ELSE
    RETURN .F.
ENDIF

BTW.........Mar'08 is a legal file name.