Thank you all for the good ideas!

>There have been a couple of good answers to your question already, and of course the answer is debateable, depending on your program's size, complexity, need for portability, etc.
>
>Just to allow another idea: you can Scatter/Gather (or assign in code) Table Field values to Object Properties, then bind the Properties to the Textboxes, etc. This creates a transaction layer that allows for easier transition to another Data Engine in the future (like SQL,Oracle, etc.)...
>
>Just my 2 cents...
>
>
>>Is there a recommended method to validating data on a form?
>>
>>Assuming the control is bound to a table field...
>>
>>Which is better?
>>
>>

>>if empty(table.field) then
>>  =messagebox('this field cannot be empty')
>>  return
>>endif
>>

>>
>>or
>>
>>

>>if empty(thisform.text1.value) then
>>  =messagebox('this field cannot be empty')
>>  return
>>endif
>>