I gess you could also avoid the expension with: if test -n "$(find . -maxdepth 1 -name \"$NAME\" -print -quit)" 2012/8/15 Steve Thompson <smt at vgersoft.com>: > On Wed, 15 Aug 2012, Craig White wrote: > >> the relevant snippet is... >> >> NAME="*.mov" >> cd $IN >> if test -n "$(find . -maxdepth 1 -name $NAME -print -quit)" >> >> and if there is one file in this directory - ie test.mov, this works fine >> >> but if there are two (or more) files in this directory - test.mov, test2.mov >> >> then I get an error... >> find: paths must precede expression > > The substitution of $NAME is expanding the wild card, giving you a single > -name with two arguments. You probably want something like: > > NAME="\*.mov" > > Steve > _______________________________________________ > CentOS mailing list > CentOS at centos.org > http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos