We have a need to rename some columns, but since we can't update both the database and the programs instantly, we'd like to temporarily assign both names to the same column while the updates are in progress. Something like this would be super nifty :-) ALTER TABLE howdy_doody ADD NAME xyzzy TO COLUMN plugh; I am pretty certain no such SQL command exists. But is it possible to do something sneaky to the internal tables so that two names point to the same columnand everything just works? Everything meaning updates, inserts, etc, not further ALTER TABLE and so on. -- ... _._. ._ ._. . _._. ._. ___ .__ ._. . .__. ._ .. ._. Felix Finch: scarecrow repairman & rocket surgeon / felix@xxxxxxxxxxx GPG = E987 4493 C860 246C 3B1E 6477 7838 76E9 182E 8151 ITAR license #4933 I've found a solution to Fermat's Last Theorem but I see I've run out of room o