>Then there is the better choice, IMHO, of using DEBUGOUT < message > which outputs your message to the debugger's Output window.

yes I agree... I mostly use DEBUGOUT myself anymore when I need to kick out feedback. I dont know why I threw out a MESSAGEBOX() on this thread, oh yeah it was friday :)

Although there is a specific situation I still find it useful. Namely, when in deep-deep debugging, stepping thru much stuff and I got a handful of breakpoints for the bigger picture setup that I dont want to flip on & off. I like to toss in a MESSAGEBOX() for more of a pause action (instead of kicking out feeback) when needing a quick look at something that smells fishy in a form. Messagebox lets me peak at my watches and locals in the debugger (if trace between breaks is on) so I can quickly pinpoint what step in multi-step process w/multi objects my problem is coming from.