>>Just for general discussion:
>>
>>Is there any reason that someone would not SET EXACT ON for the application default?
>>
>>I can think of specific instances where you just want to match the first X number of characters, but not as a default.
>>
>>I guess if you get in the habit of doing the ==, it might make sense...
>>
>>Joe
>
>Joe,
>
>Yes, I use SET EXACT OFF as default and so does VFP. Partial string matching is a very powerfull feature when dealing with databases.
>
>This is simply an issue of learning how strings are compared and then dealing with it.
>
>BTW, SET EXACT ON does NOT provide exact string matching, for example;
>
>

>SET EXACT ON
>lcVar1 = "Smith"
>lcVar2 = "Smith     "
>? lcVar1 = lcVar2  && Answer, True they match
>? lcVar1 == lcVar2 && Answer, False they do not match
>

It is just my preference to SET EXACT ON. When I need SET EXACT OFF behaviour, I use ALLTRIM, LEN, LEFT, and functions like that. It is what you get used-to I suppose.

Take care,
Joe