?? Force use of access path right away.

[Guest.Visitor]

You might want to try the OPTIMIZE FOR N ROWS clause; set N to a number which is more typical of a 'first screen of data' implementation which implies similar definition as does *FIRSTIO. Comments provided "as is" with no warranties of any kind whatsoever.

[Guest.Visitor]

Caveat Emptor probably correct... Of course you could for a specific query create that data area and then delete it after the query request finishes. If given most every situation the query is truly faster using that index vs one that the optimizer currently insists on choosing, does that not indicate a flaw in the optimizer? You may want to apply the latest maintenance for database/query functions. Regards, Chuck Comments provided "as is" with no warranties of any kind whatsoever.