Chris;

Maybe your getting to what I need to know. And you have given me a chance to show my ignorance.

I typically write a string of queries that extract small chunks from the server and store them locally, then merge, extrapolate, etc. locally. I found this executes much faster than trying to do lots of complex joins and subjoins all in one query and passing that query to the server. Typically I never join more than three tables if at all possible.

Are small, highly targeted queries what you mean by "pass-thru" queries? If not, please explain.

I must confess that on the occasions I've pulled down the full contents of one or more tables, but if I do that I download the complete table(s) to a local table in my Access DB, then mix and match locally to my hearts desire. I usually on do this with extremely large historical data that I know I'll be thrashing quit a bit.