>Where I work, we have used VFP intently for about 6 months, and are just starting to realize the benefits of using a 'framework'. What is everyone else doing interms of adopting a framework? I went to the maxframe demo but it seemed to really require that you adopt their feel and touch, and just bought the codebook by Griver to read this week. I am also interested in what would be the best way to go to stay marketable as a contractor. What is everyone else doing? Thanks!

Great! Now I get to climb on my soapbox and rant for awhile :-)

Jeff, I use Visual MaxFrame for a multi-programmer project, and also have a self-developed framework which I use for smaller one-person projects. The only problems I've had with the VMF 'Look & Feel' are the disappearing buttons - SAVE and CANCEL only appear if you've edited something, etc. This can either be changed in the base classes or ignored, depending on your tolerance. THere IS a fairly steep learning curve, because it is very rich in features. However, you can start with their sample files and expand into your own screens.

We DID find that by carefully using as much VMF internal code/properties/classes as possible that our code is much more uniform among 5 programmers. This is a BIG advantage, since you want each form to have the same interface, and want any programmer to be able to debug another's work.

For smaller projects, I've developed an application object and my own individual controls which do about 90% of what I need (a date/calendar control, an interactive Quicken-style search, etc.). Setting up a new project takes about half an hour of copying/renaming VCXs and PRGs, but then I'm ready to go. I HAVE become pretty good at 'hacking' a form and changing VPF3 base classes to my own classes, as well as changing the occasional VFP5 form/control that doesn't match the defaults.

HTH
Barbara