2 points. With cron you need the full path to the date function. Type "which date" in the terminal to get the path. Second, I'd suggest formatting the date string to not include the colon character. In applescript, this is the default symbol for separating directories and files in partial or full paths, just as the / character is used in unix. Norm Nacohen at mac.com Sent wirelessly via BlackBerry from T-Mobile.