>Hello all,
>
>I'm new to client/server, so forgive me if this question is stupid.
>

There are no stupid questions, only stupid assumptions.

>Obviously they will need C/S.

Let's get our terms straight. When I hear Client/Server, I assume you mean accessing data from one product to another, usually (but not necessarily) physically located on another machine. A client server app is also usually designed to be network freindly, keeping traffic to a minimum.

>Must I have all users in a client/server?

Do you mean that if some users/apps access your backend data through middleware like ODBC or Advantage do they all have to ? No. That is the beauty of C/S, the data doesn't care about the front end. The front end could be VFP, VB or whatever.

> Can I have some users access the files remotely through C/S and others access the same files locally?

>Obviously, I’m trying all sorts of contortions to avoid having to learn and maintain an Oracle or SQL server database.

Learning Oracle or SQL Server is not such a bad prospect, you should just make sure that the product you choose is the right one for the job.

VFP is not designed to be a database server. It _can_ be accessed through ODBC, but that doesn't mean it's necessarily a good idea. Other products that are specifically designed for this end up doing a better job because they don't send the kitchen sink down the pipe every time a user makes a request. VFP does, and this makes it slow. I haven't used the Advantage engine, so I can't speak for its efficiency or lack of.

>If they'd just let me upgrade to T3 ...

You shouldn't look to more bandwidth as a solution to a bad design (Not that you are planning a bad design). A well designed app would do fine over a T1.