>>>Yes you do need the SQL*Net client on all computers that will run the app. See my article in the KB [purple book] under Articles, Client/Server category.
>>
>>Great information, thanks!
>>When the connection is up and running, is there anything in particular to be aware of when working with Oracle?
>>
>>Arne
>
>Use shared connections where possible. This default is set under Tools/Options/Remote Data. Don't go overboard retrieving all records from the tables. Retrieve only the data you need [actually just what the the user needs]. Use table buffering as much as possible. To much I/O between the client and server if you use record buffering.

Thanks all for the head ups.
I think I'll use SPT to keep network traffic to a minimum. I took a look back at the thread concerning varchar2, and thought that since the character fields are mostly small it would be ok to use char instead. The DBA, however seems to think that char is outdated and that varchar2 is the data type to use. Is this correct, or is there another data type (character, varchar) that would be better suited in this context?

Arne