You need to use the -e file test operator to see if a file exists or not.
There are also a slew of other file operators for all sorts of tests.
A list of these can be found in the Camel book. 
if( -e $new_file )
{
    unlink( $new_file );
}

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Wonko.

In reply to Re: Text File by Wonko the sane
in thread Text File by Anonymous Monk

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