In the registry there are entries in the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT for VisualFoxProRuntime that have the path of the installed VSL500.dll. Would having the DLL in you primary path overide this? I haven't tried on a nonFox machine here (guess the last on the net got some vfp install recently) but if I rename the dll and copy to a default path I get nasty path messages. Since this a pretty poor way to try it I may have cause a side effect but when I renamed the dll in the windows/system (same path as in the registry) things are ok even with a duplicate dll in my project path?

It would be shame if we can't do that.

After all, many applications, demos, etc. are on CD. When we insert the CD, the Plug and Play is fired, the application then starts. We don't have to install anything.