>
>thanks Larry for the code... do you think the user should see the AUTO NUMBER before the record is added?
>thanks again for the code..

From what I understood you wanted to show the number while the user was adding information. If the user doesn't have to know the number until the information is confirmed, then I would go back to the original numbering method, to prevent from having blank/unused/deleted records. If the user need to know before the data is saved then using the other method will allow you to display the number at any time.