>Do you have that Agent installed? Do you have an error handler in force that might be masking an error?
>
>What code are you using?

well the code is 300 lines long, so i don't know if to post it here is propper. but it is the code from MS sample on the web for the agent. the agent should be installed since it is working in ms word. i downloaded the character from the ms website (since i couldn't find it on my hd - maybe the agent is not installed after all). like i said, the baloon comes up and displayes the text, but no agent. the sound i can not test since on this computer i have no sound. it is not an error handler - just tried without my normal one. so, i am at a loss?!