You can try to go from a level to another, here would be a possible check list :) : 1. Own dockable pane 2. Own frame window 2a. Embedding of the frame into the pane (what can you see at this stage ?) 3. Own toolbar 3a. Embedding of the bar into the frame 4. Implementing of the frame's update/reactions functions They sought it with thimbles, they sought it with care; They pursued it with forks and hope; They threatened its life with a railway-share; They charmed it with smiles and soap. :)

My guess is that Notepad opens the file for reading only (and only tries to open it for writing if the user wants to save, at which point it will also fail), when Excel or Word or the likes opens the file it probably allows other processes to read the file, but not to write to them (this would explain how you get a "open for reading only" option from Word if you try to open a document that is opened by another word instance/another user's word...). Can it be that when you use CreateFile to open the file you try to open it for writing? > The problem with computers is that they do what you tell them to do and not what you want them to do. < > Sometimes you just have to hate coding to do it well. <

Thanks Eugen, I'll try n let you know.. HARSH Programmers are in a race with the Universe to create bigger and better idiot-proof programs, while the Universe is trying to create bigger and better idiots. So far the Universe is winning.

Harsh Shankar wrote: what ever will be written bellow the white spaces will again be gone.. I don't think this is strictly true; when you print on a DC only the colours are rendered so all white space remains as it was. Thus if you print your watermark first and then your text on top, only the parts of the watermark that get overprinted will disappear. Why not try a small test to see what results you might get? txtspeak is the realm of 9 year old children, not developers. Christian Graus

I just want to clarify that I think the preview mode has just been changed in MFC 9.0 and probably there is no easy way to make it look the old way. If you don't like my suggestions then you're free not to follow them. There is sufficient light for those who desire to see, and there is sufficient darkness for those of a contrary disposition. Blaise Pascal