>No explicit buffering is used at all. The tests are on plain VFP tables.
>
>>>Using native VFP tables, I have been attempting to check if another network user has changed a record whilst the present user has been editing (no buffering involved).
>>>
>>>CURVAL() does not return the value from disk, but uses a cached value. SET REFRESH seems to make no difference to anything.
>>>
>>>If I issue REFRESH(), despite an error (no update tables specified), CURVAL() does correctly return the disk value.
>>>
>>>Is there an official way to achieve this, or must I use REFRESH(), supressing the error?
>>
>>
>>What is it the Workarea buffering set ?
>>
>>Fabio

Premised that, one corrected definition of CURVAL() does not have to depend on buffering (the same one for REFRESH()).

Even if it is strange that with a native table CURVAL() functions with buffering = 1, I can confirm this fact.

Well, CURVAL() don't read from the filesystem,
but from the VFP's inner cache ( SYS(1103) report it's size ), or uses the workarea buffer where VFP store OLDVAL().

Then:
try:

GO RECNO() IN Alias

or

SYS(1104) && clear inner cache
* SYS(1104,Alias) && in VFP9 clear inner cache for the fileHandle(Alias)

Of course, REFRESH() it is the better solution,
but the Team has put of the code that controls the buffering and generates a error
(a incorrect definition for REFRESH()).

Fabio