>>It looked like this:
>>------------------------------------------
>> FUNCTION udfNextId
>> * Uses the existing next number for the
>>field identified by
>> * cIdDesc as the ID number for a new record.
>> * Then increments the existing number, etc...
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Christoper - Thanks for your response. I guess I was too wordy with my question, and your answer to me didn't appear.
Then someone else (Lucius?) and you apparently had some conversation about his answer, and I saw some of that.

Since posting the question, I've done more work, including more research in "Visual FoxPro 3.0 by Whil Hentzen, "Mastering Visual FoxPro", everything I could find on the Internet and I realize I wasn't even close toasking the right question.

The problem I'm having is twofold. 1) Switching to a completely new syntax, which I'm struggling with, but coming along. 2)The gaps left by all the authors who switch back and forth from discussing the Visual Designers and the "old style" program