>I was trying to create an object of an excel97 range. when the range name is not found the form error event is invoked to trap this ole error(1426), give the user a message close the file and quit excel and return to the form to select another file. I have set oExcel=.null. because I have not had any trouble with the excel object being released from the system.

I don't know if this applies to Excel 97 or not, but in Excel 2000, if you iterate through a range object using a FOR EACH oCell IN oRange...ENDFOR construct, there's an object reference that gets left behind and the only way to get rid of it is to either issue CLEAR ALL or quit VFP.

Regardless, it sounds like there's a dangling object reference around here somewhere. I think David Frankenbach's web site has a utility that'll help you track it down. I don't know the URL of his site off-hand.