I've noticed this also with Excel COM - some properties require all their ancestors. But it is [very] interesting that "STORE" overcame the necessity for a family reunion. Very interesting - wunder why?

>You might enjoy this one...
>
>Setting properties on a COM component to create a chart today, and had this block of code:
>

>WITH chart.Axis(2)
>   .Title = "Leasing Agents"
>   .TitleFont.Size = 10
>   .Step = 1
>ENDWITH
>

>This caused a syntax error on the .Step assignment. I tried everything I could think of to work around it and finally found a way to make it work by calling an external prg from outside the WITH structure with just this line of code:
>

>   chart.Axis(2).Step = 1
>

>However, calling the same line of code in a function inside the original prg would fail. Finally, a few mintues ago I discovered that this will work in the original WITH block:
>

>   STORE 1 TO ('.Step')
>

>Any idea why the first way confused VFP so much?