Just a note that I caught and corrected the syntax error on my last example and that correcting it does not change the result at all. # cat workmv | xargs -i '{}' mv --Target-Directory=./mqueue/offline/ ./mqueue/'{}' vice # cat workmv | xargs -i '{}' --Target-Directory=./mqueue/offline/ mv ./mqueue/'{}' both give xargs: {}: No such file or directory Regards, Jim -- *** e-mail is not a secure channel *** mailto:byrnejb.<token>@harte-lyne.ca James B. Byrne Harte & Lyne Limited vox: +1 905 561 1241 9 Brockley Drive fax: +1 905 561 0757 Hamilton, Ontario <token> = hal Canada L8E 3C3