>>>>One nice thing about going this route, rather than using INLIST() is that it's more flexible for future changes (IMO).
>>>
>>>I tend to stick with INLIST() instead of '$' when possible, as I have to make my code as "legacy-proof" as possible, so that people with little vfp knowledge might be able to make minor changes - and INLIST I think is more explanatory than '$' for a newbie...and of course it's optimizable (though not in this case, of course, but often is). But I agree it's less typing.
>>
>>So why don't you use AT(). It does the same thing as $, and not as much typing as INLIST().
>
>Similar reason to '$'. If you're a newbie, what does AT mean? It's non-descriptive...

Well, it's more discriptive than $, but true, inlist does say more.