Hi Sergey,

I have since tried it with your solution and with ALSO with the EMPNO+DTOS(DATE)+DUTY+EXCCODE+STRTRAN(SUBSTR(TTOC(START),12,5),":").
Both do not display the phantom record now.

I can only assume that the index was corrupt... though I am sure I did try PACK and REINDEX before. I cannot duplicate the problem anymore. This could be because I physically deleted the CDX and started afresh (?)

My argument has been, throughout this thread, is that, even if the expression was incorrect, as long as it evaluated to a legal expression (which it would have to), why the phantom record..

Sorry for the back and forth, I am really curious to understand what causes this problem.



>Are you saying that you get phantom record even with correct time part of the index?
>
>>I did get rid of the problem by eliminating the time string from the index (I mentioned this at the start)
>>
>>And yes, Sergey, I do realize that your suggestion is settings independent and therefore preferable.
>>
>>My point was (and is) that, irrespective of correct or incorrect results of the time string component, why was I getting the phantom record?
>>The 1st 3 parts of the index expression created a unique index, the time component only added a more chronological view to the records. Even if it returned something other than intended, it would, at the most, display the records in a slightly incorrect order.
>>
>>I am still trying to figure out what causes the phantom record condition...
>>