>Gotcha. And I understand your points. And some of my search forms use grids with the accompanying textbox for the search text ( "search for dummies" ) and it works really well.

Yes, that's my technique, and to be candid, I haven't used a genuine listbox for at least a year, and probably never will again. I've become so fluent with grids and table sources, I use them for anything that resembles a listbox now...or else use a dropdown for very simple little lists that need a search feature...

>The listbox highlighting outline is ok with my choice of colors but of course allowing users to choose their own color schemes takes a lot of the "control" out of our hands ... and speaking of computer dummies, :-) I've seen some color schemes set up by users that are unbelievable. I don't see ( no pun intended :-) ) why they aren't blind from staring at it all day long. :-)

Sometimes I find no other word than "ugly" (well, maybe "hideous" :) to describe some user settings, but then it's all in the beholder's eye, I guess. Some people even cringe at my favorite, "Maple" scheme :)