>I am making a coding error that I cannot see. The != comparison is not being caught by the program and duplicate records are being recorded.
>
>

>		SELECT indicators
>		SCAN
>			m.TheWord2 = ALLTRIM(LOWER(indicator))
>			m.sidenote2 = action && text from a field
>			IF m.TheWord2 $ lcTEXT AND m.TheWord2 != m.TheWord1 && The comparison of  m.TheWord2 != m.TheWord1  is not happening
>				SELECT MASTER
>				REPLACE indicator2 WITH m.sidenote2 
>				SELECT indicators
>				REPLACE hits WITH indicator.hits + 1
>				m.sidenote2 = ""
>			ENDIF
>		ENDSCAN
>

>
>What have I overlooked?


SET EXACT?
try with:

.. NOT m.TheWord2 == m.TheWord1