Mark,
>When the form initialises, the user hasn't got the opportunity to choose the query conditions, so how can the business object retrieve its data when it doesn’t know yet what data to retrieve? >
My apologies...I didn't catch the fact that you were using the CFindForm class. What you're running up against is one of the downsides of SPT...As you know, views load the structure of the data for you and SPT does not. In this particular case, I recommend clearing the ControlSources of the grid, then setting them *after* the user clicks the "Find Now" button.
Regards,
Kevin McNeish
Eight-Time .NET MVP
VFP and iOS Author, Speaker & Trainer
Oak Leaf Enterprises, Inc.
Chief Architect, MM Framework
http://www.oakleafsd.com