Joe,

I really like your idea...

Perhaps (like you say) you can't do this with the runtime. If that is true, it won't work unless VFP is actually installed on his target machine.

I have another thought (untested, of course). What if there was a second DBC, with a stored procedure in it? Would that stored procedure be able to open another DBC and pack it? Perhaps it could do the process manually (opening the DBC as a table, and packing it).

>Steve,
>
>What about firing up the Application COM object, as in:
>
>VisualFoxpro.Application.7
>
>Maybe the run-time doesn't like be fired up as a COM server? Any COM gurus gonna help us out?
>
>At least both VFP and VBScript are getting errors...it would be worse if it worked in the VFP command window but then didn't work in VBScript. I am betting it just doesn't like using the run-time as a COM server. Try using the VisualFoxpro.Application.7 as the COM object and see if that fires up OK.
>
>Otherwise we are at the mercy of anyone else reading...any other ideas?
>
>JoeK