Ooh, you don't want to do it like that, noo, noo! ;-)

You're trying to create a symbolic reference, and this is generally frowned upon, since it can cause very nasty effects if you get your variables mixed up

If you use references instead, then everything becomes much easier. Try: $hash{$countit}=(FILE => $file); instead. The actual value can then be accessed as $hash{$countit}->{FILE}

--
Tommy
Too stupid to live.
Too stubborn to die.