Hi John,

Without seeing field types I suspect at least part of this is going to be variable type versus field type: they need to match, as SQL Server performs few translations for encrypted columns. This might be clearer if ODBC wasn't chopping off the error messages including the advice at the end(!) So can I suggest you try these queries in SSMS, for 2 reasons:

- SSMS shows the full error message with advice, and you can hover mouse for other useful info (e.g. what will happen to your parameters).
- That will eliminate VFP and ODBC from the equation.

Once you see it working in SSMS it should be much easier to replicate via ODBC.

There's quite a good guide here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/relational-databases/security/encryption/always-encrypted-query-columns-ssms?view=sql-server-ver16
...including permissions needed to access the column keys and how to turn on Always Encrypted in SSMS (it's off by default as access via SSMS negates the purpose of Always encrypted). Don't forget permissions for keys!