Hi
You're right
If a query with a small result set is not based on a good selectivity but a full table scan and a grouping operation , it cannot be fast, IMO.

A variant could be:

Select DISTINCT b.cfk1, b.cfk2, a.ctype;
	FROM  vcf!many b ;
	INNER Join vcf!one a ON  b.cfk1 = a.cid;
	WHERE (b.namount1<>0 OR b.namount2<>0 OR b.namount3<>0)=.T. and a.ctype In ("F","8") 

If exists an index on (b.namount1<>0 OR b.namount2<>0 OR b.namount3<>0), this could be fast, if has a good selectivity, but I don't know if results are correct




>Dorin,
>
>not neccesarily:
>the selectivity could be masked by the group by!
>
>regards,
>
>thomas