This is a little (well, a lot) over my head, but yes, I think I want your second option.

I am looking into providing an alternate way to manage IMail (a decent email server package) user accounts. IMail's external database handling is very primitive, and there are no COM calls. It only supports data handling through an external DLL, and that DLL is not a COM DLL. Since I only have experience writing COM DLLs, could you point me in the right direction for making an alternate one like you describe?

Thanks.

>>Is there another way to address a DLL created with VFP other than the COM interface?
>
>If you meant create a DLL with a set of functions, each one is a VFP function - no, it is not possible. If you meant access to DLL functions as to API functions, - yes, you can, but these functions are just a pure wrapper for interface and features for COM components DLL that are standard - so C++ program, for example, will be able to ue that COM object.