>Combos in general are the wrong tool for anything with a large number of items?
>At least it was the saying when VFP was new ...

Sure, I have been using fox as from foxbase in the 80s. I fully agree with this view. Let's quote:
http://fox.wikis.com/wc.dll?Wiki~VFPMisusedAndAbused

"These two controls are great when they are used correctly. However, too often we see questions about how to get my combo of 10,000 customers to work faster. Keep in mind that a person has to navigate these controls to find what they want. Ask yourself, would you want to use a combobox to select one out of 10,000 possible values?"

Yep! However as you say, the proof is in the pudding, since we currently have a specific sizable drop-down list that is working fine for lists in the 100 to 10,000 items. That's at leak the users' view on that things in this case. Anyway, we will have to do with pictures or without this powerful VFP widget:(

Daniel