>>PMJI,
>>An object on a form can't access a protected property of the form. Only methods in the form class itself can.
>>Is that the problem?
>
>No. An object on the form cannot access its own protected properties. For example, code inside click method cannot access this.protectedproperty.
>
>
>-Dave

Dave,
You are right! I've tested it and you can access the protected method or property of a button dropped onto a form from within it's own methods, even when that code is written into the base class of the command button. This should work, even for "hidden" in this case. hmmmmm. I'm in VFP 6 here.