there you go, but please, not "spectacularly". That's what happens when you're in a hurry. I slapped it off without running the code. Nevermore. 'incomplete' is expected isn't it? But thanks for the comeuppance. I have shunned $/=undef since perl 4.something, because of an inconsistency then, but it works solidly in 5+. Like a stutter, I find it hard to shake. And, of course, in the example slurp contains nothing when while finishes. Vane --Watch the stars