>>>i would like to set up an auto backup of files based on how many changes are made rather than when there is a startup to the system. is there a way to count keystrokes?
>>
>>My first thought is that nothing is really changed until it's saved. So, you could count save operations and base your backups on that.
>>
>>If you really want to count keystrokes, you could look at the .KeyPress event.
>
>thank you for your response
>mm not quite following you on this Al. Changes are made to data files ongoing and automatically saved once the change is made. that's why i thought that perhaps counting keystrokes was a possible way to go. i cannot find any reference to keypress event in my help (vf9).
>
>k

You might want to take a look at this:
http://www.takenote.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=28

Basically the way it works is with triggers, keeping track of data before/after changes. Even if you don't use the product it has some good ideas that might be of use. Another thing to keep in mind is if you write something that starts counting keystrokes you run into the chance that some virus-protection software will think it's a keylogger.