I would guess that you're doing something like
select file 1
scan
replace file2.field1 with file1.field1
endscan
Where you're never actually selecting the 2nd file.
If the currently selected file is at EOF, you can't replace into another file. If you select your second file and replace into it from the 1st file you won't see the problem.
PF
>The syntax:append blank in 'myfile' doesn't seem to fire in all cases. A blank record was added, but the subsequent REPLACE did not put anything in the fields. It seems to happen at the last record being appended. The replaces worked in all but the last record. My work around required a SELECT MyFile and then an APPEND BLANK.
(On an infant's shirt): Already smarter than Bush