The forms have to be part of a class library. If, for instance, the class library was called MYCLASS.VCX, and the forms FORM1 and FORM2 were objects in that class library, the following code would be used:

goMyclass = createobject('myclass') && Create scope for library

Then you can simply use:

goMyclass.form1.show

or

goMyclass.form2.caption = 'This is form 2'

Once you have created scope to the forms you can manipulate their properties and methods without having to actually show them.

Derek