>>>>>Make sure to add QUIT as the last line in your main program.
>>>>
>>>>Why doesn't the MODI FILE work?
>>>
>>>What are the non-default properties of your form? Is the _Screen visible when you run your application?
>>
>>No it's not. I didn't want the VFP windo to be visible. I modified my code thus:
>>
>>

>>LOCAL lcPath, llOldScreenVisible 
>>
>>lcPath = ADDBS(justpath(FULLPATH(thisform.FileName)))
>>
>>llOldScreenVisible = _screen.visible  &&In EXE it is not visible
>>_screen.Visible = .t.
>>MODIFY FILE (lcPath + 'SKUDUPES.TXT')  NOEDIT
>>_screen.Visible = llOldScreenVisible 
>>

>>
>>Ths only thing is I can't get it to be the same size as the screen. None of the following work:
>>
>>

>>MODIFY FILE cat window screen
>>MODIFY FILE cat window _screen
>>MODIFY FILE cat window '_screen'
>>MODIFY FILE cat window 'screen'
>>MODIFY FILE cat window &screen
>>MODIFY FILE cat window &_screen
>>MODIFY FILE cat WINDOW 'Microsoft Visual FoxPro'
>>MODIFY FILE cat WINDOW "Microsoft Visual FoxPro"
>>

>
>Did you try
>
>modify file (myFile) in screen NOEDIT ?

The probelem was not with cat but with naming the screen. But anyway, I did as Tamar suggested and MODIied the file in the actual form itself and now it works. this is the code:

lnOldWidth = thisform.width
lnOldHeight = thisform.Height
thisform.Closable = .f.
thisform.Height = 400
thisform.Width = 500

MODIFY FILE (lcPath + 'SKUDUPES.TXT') IN WINDOW frmSkud WINDOW frmSkud NOEDIT

thisform.Height = lnOldHeight 
thisform.Width = lnOldWidth 

thanks for your help