We've scoured the documentation and are still a little fuzzy :-) on this ... We're trying to convert some SQL*Loads from conventional to direct and the Oracle Documentation states that one of the requirements is that there are no active transactions on the destination table. Obviously SELECT ... FOR UPDATE would begin a transaction, but what about a simple SELECT? Many thanks, Jon Knight ____________________________________________________________________________________ We won't tell. Get more on shows you hate to love (and love to hate): Yahoo! TV's Guilty Pleasures list. http://tv.yahoo.com/collections/265 -- //www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l