thanks again for all your help.
i had to step away for a couple of days, to let the frustration level settle.
yes, it worked, thanks so much.
i did have a problem with a component that i had downloaded, thtmlport, said it couldn't find the source, i put it here:
/Developer/lazarus/components/thtmlport
where is the correct place to put code for a new lcl component so lazarus can find it?