okay, I'm a bit confused: http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/4.1/en/multiple-column-indexes.html You see 2 examples at the bottom, where the name index is NOT used. I understand why the index is not used in the first example, but why is it not used for the "last_name" part in the query of the second example? I think I need to revise my knowledge on indexing a bit :-/ -- ================================================================== Michiel Van Bel PhD student Tel:+32 (0)9 331 36 95 fax:+32 (0)9 3313809 VIB Department of Plant Systems Biology, Ghent University Technologiepark 927, 9052 Gent, BELGIUM mibel@psb.vib-ugent.be http://www.psb.vib-ugent.be http://bioinformatics.psb.ugent.be ==================================================================