>>>>If I use an incrementing number as a surrogate primary key, why should I make it a character field? Tastrade does that
>>>
>>>Bret,
>>>
>>>You've heard some decent arguments for using an integer. If I had my guess, and memory still serves right, I'd say Tas didn't use them before is because there was once some trouble using integers together with combos. Integers would really confuse them.
>>>
>>>Steve
>>
>>It would be more presize to say that integeres will require some accomodations with combos, and it's really doable.
>
>Was that it? I didn't know what the problem was, exactly. I just remember folks having fits with them, so I didn't do it that way. For a while I did surrogate primary keys with characters. Of course, I use integers now.
>
>Steve

Basically, the problem was (VFP3) that combo.value is character even if appropriate table.field is integer, and it's really a problem in a case of bound control. One solution is to use unbound controls.