ld (field) -> String, number, date, Boolean or time
                                                                                    Pg 46-2

field       Field        Field for which to return old value

For the current record, Old returns the value field held before field was modified. In other words, it returns the value of the field as it is stored on disk. Old works on the field whether the field has been modified by a procedure or by the user.

If a record is new, Old returns an empty value for the field. 

For example, if the record is new and the field is an Alpha field, Old returns an empty string. If the field is a numeric field, Old returns zero (0). If the field is a date field, Old returns !00/00/00!. If the field is a field of type time, it returns †00:00:00†. If the field is a Boolean field, Old returns  alse.

Old may not be applied to Text or Picture fields. It may be applied to all other field types, including subfields, but has no meaning when applied to a complete subfile.

See also:  Modified ecord