>I know we have a progress bar that can show a user the progress of actions being performed, but how about when you dont know how long it will take (such as a really complex query), is there a way to display an animated gif to the user such as an hour glass with sand falling, to indicate to the user that something is going on. Usually I put up the processing please wait message, but I was wondering if there is a better method with VFP.

something in foxtalk (i think) showed how to change the icon for the project based on a timer when working in something like that. series of 4 or 6 icons stepped through during a process like this makes the icon look like it's [moving]. of course, takes time away from the actual process...