++ davido for that great explanation which was very understandable and informative (should be a Q&A). And thanks again, for the cautions. A big selling point on the last method you mention is to be able to run under use strict, which I honestly hadn't gotten far enough to realize. If I can figure out a way to link it up with my HTML::Template code then I'll be good shape. If I do, I'll update by orig. question.