Thanks Bob, I did have some issues (cockpit error on my part, I'm sure) with ansvr. I came across a similar plate solver, based on the same algorithm, which is much more user friendly. It even has a library selector depending on the sensor and OTA characteristics. It's called All Sky Plate Solver written by Giovanni Benintende. It is very quick and totally internal. The COM component name is 'AllSkyPlateSolver.PlateSolver' . Is there any way for Visual Pinpoint to call this nifty little application when it needs to an all sky platesolve?

John