>i think i gave you points for helping....

Thanks, I didn't notice them before... BTW, AFAIK like is not optimizable (I have to check it again), while = is optimizable operator. If you have index on lastname, use pat_lName=m.lcValue. Don't use alltrim in the SQL unless you don't want to change ANSI settings. You can do:

local lcValue, lcOldAnsi
lcOldAnsi=set('ansi')
set ansi off && to perfomr partial match
lcValue=alltrim(thisform....)
select ... where pat_lName=m.lcValue ...
if lcOldAnsi='ON'
   set ansi on && restore it back
endif