You can use

dVal = {^1998/01/01}

and the date will be set correctly, regardsless of SET DATE.

Vlad

>Try this:
>
> SET DATE TO AMERICAN
> dVal = {01/01/1998}
>
>
>What you get is an empty date if this code is run in a .PRG, but it works fine from the command window. I've already done a workaround, using dVal = CTOD('01/01/1998'), but this seems strange. A generic point of interest: if you place a MESSAGEBOX call between the SET DATE TO and the use of the date constant, it works fine!
>
>Fred Taylor