> ... the more info that comes in, the more I'am getting confused...
> I start to believe that I' am missing a crucial point in the whole
> concept?????

I think you are right. With a Paradox database, you need write access from the client to the entire directory where it resides. With a Firebird database, you do not need access to the directory of the database from the client at all. The client talks to the server and the server accesses the database. That is why you need to know the local address as seen from the server - you just tell the server where to go looking for the database, rather than accessing it directly. The Windows open dialog may in many cases be useless, since the directory of the Firebird database may not be visible from the client (in fact, I cannot even see the server where my databases reside from my client).

HTH,
Set