>>>>As a workaround, if you can't SetFocus() within the Valid() event, you might postpone it with a Timer (with a brief interval). But I don't know whether this works; perhaps the Valid() will then fire again.
>>>
>>>The real problem is that the form that does the setfocus is completely ignorant of the valid event. The valid() is occuring in another form
>>
>>You could use the aStack() to see if there's a valid, range* etc somewhere on the stack. But it would still be a kludge :).
>
>So what do people do in general?? Use the lostfocus() with a nodefault if validation fails??

Yes, but keep the validation somewhere else. In a lostfocus,

if not this.myvalid()
   nodefault
endif

You can do this at the top class level, and then write a little builder which will just move any code you had in valid() into myvalid().

Conclusion: valid method, as it is, with all the limitations and quirks, is nearly useless.