>Is there a way to create an SPT statement referencing a remote table and joining with a local table without using views (since that would negate the purpose of keeping the data on the server and making the server do the work)?

Not really - in order for the query to be performed on the backend, the data has to be present on the backend; the backend has no way of getting at your data short of you shovelling it out to the server in a temp table of some sort, have it mung with the backend data, and then schlep the result back. If something changes locally, you've gotta shovel the changes out to the temporary storage on the backend, run the SPT query, schlep back; whether it makes sense to do this or to perform part of the query on the backend, pass a partly resolved result to your local station, and then have VFP complete the query is your decision...

Remember, the server may have no rights to your local directory, or to the network directory that your local data resides on. The backend as likely as not hasn't a clue about data represented in a DBF. There's no super-secret mystical reverse SPT handshake thingy. Whatever engine manipulates the datga needs to know how to work with it in its existing format, and needs access rights to it.