>I know that this is probably very easy. I have a form that will constantly update the data that shows in a grid. I would like the status of the 'select' to show over the form while it runs. I've set talk 'on' just before the select, but all that does is show the results in seconds on the screen. Is there a way to force the status bar to show?

I'll try the "I'm stupid and didn't understand the question" approach, it works sometimes: did you try to Set Status Bar On/Off?