The most obvious route to failure is copying the database from one 
location to another. The order of the copy can/will dictate the short 
name allocation.

But as you say elsewhere, keep the first 6 characters unique and you 
should not have a problem.
Leslie.



On 02/02/2019 1:59 AM, Liz McGuire wrote:
> Thanks for the confirmation.  I only use Paradox on my personal computer
> now, and shortnames (or unique first 6 chars) have become a habit for
> me, so I haven't explored this issue in years.
>
> Liz
>
>
> On 31 Jan 2019 23:20, Leslie wrote:
>> these results still hold true.
>>
>>
>> On 31/01/2019 12:39 AM, Liz McGuire wrote:
>>> My testing back in 2012 would have been Windows XP, Paradox 8, and BDE
>>> 5.1.x.
>>>
>>> And it required the specialized sequence of:
>>>
>>> Table 1 created (with ~1 short name)
>>> Table 2 created (with ~2 short name)
>>> Table 2 gets a secondary index (which is seen as belonging to table 1,
>>> because of the short-name getting ~1 in it, and the BDE seeing all the
>>> ~1 files as belonging to Table 1)
>>>
>>> ...You would only see the problem if this sequence of events happened -
>>> you might also see the problem if Table 2 got any extra file added after
>>> the fact, where Table 1 didn't already have that type of file - such as
>>> a .MB file - so long as the file for Table 2 got a short name of ~1, the
>>> BDE would see it as belonging to Table 1, because the BDE believes that
>>> all files which have the same short name belong to the .DB file of that
>>> same short name.  Technically, you could reproduce this manually by
>>> simply renaming files.
>>>
>>> Liz
>>>
>>> On 30 Jan 2019 05:49, Steven Green wrote:
>>>> IIRC.. I know there was an issue with long file names with pdoxdos and
>>>> pdoxwin using the same files.. I know there was an issue with one
>>>> version of Win itself, I think it was Win2000.. other than that, the
>>>> various versions of BDE and Win seem to play nicely together
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>>
>>>> Steven Green
>>>> Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USA
>>>>
>>>> http://www.OasisTradingPost.com
>>>>
>>>> Collectibles and Memorabilia
>>>> Vintage Lego Sets and Parts
>>>> - and Paradox support, too