Tom,

The way FoxPro compares strings is controlled by SET EXACT command. When SET EXACT is OFF (default) the string on the left is compared charcter by character until mismatch is found or the end of the string on the right. So

? "ABC" = "A"    && .T.
? "ABC" = "AB"    && .T.
? "A" = "AB"    && .F.
? "ABC" = ""    && .T.
* <> is opposite to '='
? "ABC" <> ""    && .F.

For exact comparison you can use '==' operator. For more details see help on the SET EXACT command.

>In the click event of a button in a form I have the following code. It started out performing a task but I have simplified it for debugging.
>
>
>suspend
>if nnn <> ndrop && both are string variables
> Messagebox("it worked")
>endif
>
>At the moment of suspension, The value of nnn is 5035S and the value of ndrop is ""
>
>The messagebox never appears, it is skipped over and later code is executed.
>
>If I change the IF statement to if a=a it works fine.
>
>Does anyone have and insight into my problem