>umm, how when i set the format to 5 (front + micr) , how do I capture the MICR into the pCode variable?

You can use the same techniques with Format 1. So try it like this:

iFormat        = 5   && get FrontFilename & MICR
pFrontFileName = LocalAlloc( 64, 256 )
pFrontSize     = LocalAlloc( 64, 256)
pBackFileName  = LocalAlloc( 64, 256 )
pBackSize      = LocalAlloc( 64, 256 )
pCode          = LocalAlloc( 64, 256 )
pCodeSize      = LocalAlloc( 64, 256 )

** FrontFileName
cFrontFileName = 'Front_Out.TIF'
Copy2Mem( pFrontFileName, cFrontFileName, len( cFrontFileName ))
Copy2Mem( pFrontSize, Num2DWord(len( cFrontFileName )), 4 )

** MICR FileName
cMICR_FileName = 'MICR_Out.TIF'
Copy2Mem( pCode, cMICR_FileName, len( cMICR_FileName ))
Copy2Mem( pCodeSize, Num2DWord(len( cMICR_FileName )), 4 )

BTW, I didn't notice there was one more "endif" left in Num2DWord function. That's because I paste from my full function and took out the part that I thought you won't need. Sorry for that <*bg*>