I think it is better not to put you stuff INTO the general field in the first place.
I had considered putting graphics into a general field, but when I saw the size difference between a JPG file and the size increase in the corresponding general field (50 KB vs. 1.3 MB, in my experiment), I decided to leave the JPG as a file, and store the filename in a character field.
Another option is to save files in a memo-binary field.
>In VFP 8 I have Word .DOCs in a General field.
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>Can I use Auomation to directly manipulate the contents of a General field (e.g., have Word do search and replace on a document in the General field).
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>How do I get the contents of General field either into the clipboard or export it to a file on the disk (it appears that I can do it by creating a form, putting the General field in an OLEBoundControl and then running a DoVerb [not exactly slick])
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>Thanks.
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>Tim
Difference in opinions hath cost many millions of lives: for instance, whether flesh be bread, or bread be flesh; whether whistling be a vice or a virtue; whether it be better to kiss a post, or throw it into the fire... (from Gulliver's Travels)