The problem you are experiencing usually only occurs when a Netware administrator deletes a user. All the files that were tagged as being "owned" by that user end up being ownerless. The wrong information is bein passed back to your user's program by Novell's DOS shell and since DOS does not have a "missing owner" error message anyway, Novell sends back the nearest number that will stop the application. I first ran into this problem when using Clipper'ed applications and also with Accpac.

The solution you have been given is correct.. use Filer.. to assign a valid user. The other way is to copy the file to another file name, delete the original and then rename the new file to the old file name. If you are dealing with LOTS of files, Filer is the best route. If it is just a couple of files, the copy method is a lot easier. imo.

Cheers