>Hi
>
>Thanks for your reply
>
>I am having difficulty with duplicate records probably for the very reason that deleted records are not removed from the index.
>
>Does this mean that if I want to reuse a key tag that I have to :-
>
>1) look for the tag
>2) then check to see if it was deleted and
>3) if so then recall it and replace the details.

Either that or make your PK index with a filter of NOT DELETED()

>Is there not a way to force removal of a deleted record without having exclusive rights???

Nope.