I was wondering if there is some "readymade" way that a shell can create a unique temporary file, as in the C routine "mktemp(XXXXX)". Thanks! Leo Hinds *net: ldh at hdw.harris.com uunet!hcx1!hardy!ldh usps: Harris CSD, 2101 W. Cypress Creek Rd, Ft Lauderdale, FL 33309 at&t: (305)973-5229