The part that is causing you trouble is subtle. By default CGI.pm only excepts parameters from the POST *OR* the GET. This means that it isn't getting the value you tacked onto the end of the URL, rather it is only getting the form elements submited. I've never decided if this is a bug or feature of CGI.pm and once i changed the way it worked. However then you upgrade and forget and wonder why all your CGI's stop working! So the easy solution is to move the action aout of the form action attribute and into a hidden form element instead.