>>>I have NEVER used alias() before.
>>>I usually use select() instead. Will
>>>you forget about the alias you created? :)
>>knowing if anything is open in the currently selected area,
>>lcOpenArea = ALIAS(SELECT())
>>IF EMPTY(lcOpenArea)
>> * No table/view/cursor is open
>>ENDIF
>
>Too complicated. just check dbf() will do.
>if you prefer, use dbf(select()).
>
>Anyway, I found it quite funny if you just
>forgot the alias (assigned by YOU) used to
>open the last dbf(). Maybe you should just
>close all and re-open the tables.
Though two tables (DBFs) in one datasession can have the same name, no two aliases can be the same. That's why you could use \somepath\foo in one work area and use \otherpath\foo in a different work area without explicitly giving either an alias. The first use of foo would have an alias of foo, the second alias would be a letter equivalent of the work area like B for the second work area or C for the third work area. The point is that you don't always know the alias of a table without using the alias() function. VFP will, however, prevent you from explicitly assigning an alias that is already being used.