My colleague uses a "command window" type program called X-Ray. It's actually pretty good. When he opens a table called 'lossrun' and types:

Append from "W:\import files\June032008.xls" type xl5 sheet loss_run

the xl sheet gets appended into the table just as you'd expect.

When I compile the code into an exe and he runs it, the [same] xl sheet refuses to load. When I run the compiled exe, it works properly for me - again, same xl workbook (on the network).

I don't know if vfp is using the excel odbc driver, but for the record, I checked and he and I have the same odbc driver.

The only real difference in our systems is that I have full vfp loaded and he has the vfp runtimes - both version 9. And it doesn't matter whether I code xl5 or xl8. Both work for me; neither work for him except when he types them directly into x-ray.

Anybody got any ideas what might be going on here?