Storing the data in bitfields simplifies the number of change requests that have to be made in a production environment. For instance, if the bitfield values are stored across char(1) fields, then when the application has to be updated to include the addition of say 10 new possible field values, 10 new char(1) fields will have to be created in the database also. When using just the bitfield (I prefer NUMBER or INTEGER in Oracle) all that is required to be changed is the code update to include the new fields, no database changes are required. 1. You should be able to retrieve and process data from the bitfields faster in your application than if they were spread out through multiple char(1) fields. 2. A single storage point for like or group data. 3. It can be read just as easily as char(1) fields by any user when directly querying the database using (what should be) built-in SQL Server bitwise functions. -- Chris