>So my question is the following: What are OLE controls (programs, classes, etc.) and were can I find an "OLE library" where I could download the controls I need?

OLEs are OCX files that contain a "blackbox" to a certain function you want, maybe its a progress bar, maybe it lets you send email. They are more commonly known as ActiveX controls today, and VFP uses these in OLE Containers on forms. ActiveX controls are like VFP classes but you can use the same ActiveX in more than one language.

The Mabry control your talking about can be purchased at www.mabry.com There are probably lots of ActiveX controls all ready on your system, including two MSMapi controls that you can use. For more info on those, look for the MAPI class in the UT files sectoin, or the latest FoxTalk (Doug Hennig's articles.)