John, this behaviour is by design. Records are marked for deletion and when you want to permanently remove records from the file you use the PACK command. This has the benefit of (a) allowing you to recall records using RECALL and (b) schedule the file maintenance for PACKing purposes. The PACK effectively creates a copy of the file without records marked for deletion and therefore requires exclusive access.
>In FoxPro 6 when I run a delete sql statement it only marks the records for deletion. How can I code it to delete the records right away?
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>BTW: this is a Visual FoxPro 6 problem.... but they don't have a category for that version.
In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends - Martin Luther King, Jr.