i noticed that one of my cron scripts had not been working for some time, and on investigation saw that it was because it invoked ed. why was ed removed from the bash lexicon? an excess of viagra? and when? of course ex does the job, but .... just askin'. ole dan j. daniel moylan 84 harvard ave brookline, ma 02446-6202 617-777-0207 (cel) jdm at moylan.us www.moylan.us [BLM]