>how come when I used: replace my_field with (my_field * .1)
>(numeric fields with a size of 5 and one decimal place)
>it rounded the result in some cases.
>
>for example, 25737 became 2574 instead of 2573.7 like i expected it would.
>on the other hand, 9805 became 980.5 like i wanted it to.
>

Because N(5,1) becomes

2573.7
12345!!!!!!

with the result rounding up. The . occupies a position in the N field representation.