Edward,

> At least part of the problem may be IBO--it trims fields
> by default (which I was not aware of until testing this)
> so it may be just that. I am looking at it right now.

That is what i was trying to warn you about :-)

I recommend setting

TIB_Connection.DefaultNoTrimming := True;

and using the TIB_Column.ColData property (rather than AsString) to
access the field value.

I hope it helps,
Tim Woodward