>SET EXACT OFF >1. The strings are considered equal >2. The strings are compared one character at a time >3. If a mismatched character is hit they are considered unequal >4. The comparison stops when the string on the right side of the = is exhausted > >SET EXACT ON >1. The shorter of the two strings is padded on the right with spaces to be > equal in length to the longer > >the rest of the comparison is the same as SET EXACT OFF > >== >The string are compared the same as as set exact off, plus >5. If the strings are still equal their lengths are compared and the result is > returned >Thanks Jim; it seems I shared in the "common misconception" you mentioned. Çetin pointed me to a quick test that showed me that I was wrong in my previous comment to you.