To tell you the truth this is not my area of expertise, this is why I linked to the outside article. I know from my own experiences that a standard JOIN yields the results I'm looking for when I need data from joined tables. I'm not sure under what specific circumstances you would want to use INNER versus LEFT or just JOIN, it would depend on the requirements for the info you are getting the results for. I wish I could be of more help on this but like I said it is not my area of expertise. 
Eric,
dont worry about it, you have been great with your help. I was just wondering if you knew off the top of your head. I have used JOIN as I read INNER JOIN is not supported is some versions on a forum.
Anway thanks again Eric. Could you maybe help with my post re Search All Clients as it is quite a complex query that i need to get done pretty urgent and need some step by step instructions. I know what needs to happen if you read it but just not sure how to implement it.
many thanks


