Robin,

You can Try something like this:

lnDBFType=dbftype(yourtable)

do case
case lnDBFType=-2 && Invalid file name
case lnDBFType=-1 && Cannot open file
case lnDBFType=48 && VFP Table's first byte is 0x00000030
otherwise && There are different values for 2.6 tables
endif

function dbftype
parameters lcFileName
private lnFH, lcChar

* Should work with visual and 2.6

if type('lcFileName')#'C' or not file(lcFileName)
return -2
endif
lnFH=fopen(lcFileName)
if lnFH=-1
return -1
endif
lcChar=fgets(lnFH, 1)
=fclose(lnFH)
return asc(lcChar)

HTH
Hugo