If this is the case then invent a new control that is based on the textbox and add it to you set of controls that you use in all applications. You would never need to convert to a date format, just store the data in a 4 or 5 width character fields (depending if you want to store the slash in the database).

If you disallow Feb 29th your error checking would be quite simple, if you wanted to check for leap years you would need to use something like my function.

This is what I like about VFP. If something isn't built into the base language, make a class. Solve once, use many times.

I have textbox classes for things like phone numbers and other common types of data I encounter that have unique error checking.

>This is a case where year doesn't apply. The field is for businesses that are seasonal and the recipient of the data wants to know the month and day the business opens and closes. Here in Kalamazoo, MI, the Root Beer stand ( an old A&W Root Beer location) opens March 1st every year and closes when the weather starts to get cold. I was hoping there was a control already written, but that's why WE GET PAID the big bucks.