>>use it directly in the property of the cursor in the DE.\
>NOT SURE WHAT DE is.
>
>>
>>As for forcing the user to enter a value in a field, that you will need to
>>put some code in the Valid() event and return .F. to avoid the user to get
>>out the field.
>
>OK, I have done that and it works the way I want it to. but in the middle of a prg I issue that statement "DO FORM GETNAME" and the form appears/flashes and the next statement in the prg executes. The form never gets a chance to allow for name entry. strange.

not strange if the form isn't modal