I hate blaming everything on Poser 5 because this is clearly a user problem rather than a software problem, but I do think Poser 4 is more forgiving of lapses in saving/opening a scene. At least I don't remember having this problem with Poser 4 and I rather carelessly saved and opened endlessly with it. Thank for additional good advice. I'll try again tonight and see what the next adventure brings. :)