>>tried that:
>>
>>m.whatever='arbitrary string'
>>SQLPREPARE(gnhandle,"update vizkeys set crypt_key=?m.whatever where realkey='one of my keys' ","real")
>>SQLEXEC(gnhandle)
>>
>>and the SQLEXEC line still stopped and asked for the value of m.whatever...
>


>m.whatever='arbitrary name'
>SQLPrepare(lnhandle,"update Northwind.dbo.employees"+;
> " set LastName=?m.whatever where FirstName='Later'","real")
>SQLEXEC(lnhandle)


am I missing something? Your syntax appears identical to mine. Or are you simply suggesting I try the sample to see if I get the same problem?

also, I'm interested to know more about the [trusted_connection="Yes"]

what constitutes "trusted" in this context? and what is the effect of that parameter?

Cheers

Harry