Just wanted to thank everyone for the prompt replies. Even though I've read it in the manual, practical examples and explanations are helping put it all together. For whatever reason, what wasn't working before now seems to when I try it again. Must be some divine power from this place... Anyway, thanks for the patience. I've picked up the llama and camel (the whole bookshelf CD kit at that) and hope to keep the dumb questions to a minimum on my journey to become a Perl monk(ey).