Indeed. Though, even if I pass the handle to a sub or method, end even if they're written by someone else, in most cases I do know what they will do with it, i.e. whether they will read from it or write into it. I can imagine situations in which I won't know and I will desire to find out the open mode of the handle, but I would regard them as atypical, especially for a newbie: this is why I asked...