Could you post the query? It'll be easier to give you specific help.

>Thanks for the reply.
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>>I'm far from an expert, but i think if it's a complex join, you need to index the same way. ex: Join a..b on a.f1+a.f2 = b.f1+b.f2 you need to index on f1+f2.
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>It isn't a complex expression, the join is a.ctrct_no = b.ctrct_no and the index for each is simply ctrct_no, sounded like it was optimized to me. I tried the sys(3054,1) call before opening the view (thanks for that tip, didn't know that one) and VFP reported that the Rushmore optimation level for each table was none. I'm confused. The join condition is the same as the index tag which is the same as the field used in the index.
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>>If you already know this, it sounds dumb, but I learned the hard way: When creating the index, do NOT use the name.field convention - it'll make the index not optimizable. I took the table-name out of the index, and the optimization level of my query went from none to full. (use sys(3054,1) to enable the output of optimization levels, it's a useful diagnostic)
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>The index does NOT contain the table name, verified that with a SYS(14) call. Arrrrggggghhhhh.