>one of the most frustrating things I find in VFP is that the editor property "Compile Before Saving" seems to have a mind of its own !

The dialog doesn't remember anything, I'm convinced :-) Or at least I've never gotten them to work right.

Best thing is not to rely on it remember to compile all the files, or use the Project Manager's "Recompile all files" Build option. Also, doesn't SET DEVELOPMENT ON make sure you're running the latest version?