>>>what code could i use to verify if a field name is present in a table.
>>>

>>>Alter Table c:\db\past.DBF Rename Column thh05 To thh11
>>>

>>>
>>>this works fine however if the program is repeated thh05 is no longer present and an error message appears.
>>>
>>>i need an 'if' command to check for thh05
>>>
>>>thanks
>>>kù
>>
>>

>>? !EMPTY(FSIZE("thh05",AliasName))
>>

>
>Unless SET COMPATIBLE On or SET COMPATIBLE DB4 ...! You may argue that only fools use those settings, but there are fools out there, and the setting is there for a reason. :-)

couldn't get this one to work but thanks fabio - fiddled with the compatible settings as Tore suggests without success. not to worry i have several operational versions.

many thanks
k