It looks like ResourceBundle.getBundle will look first for a subclass with a given candidate name and then for a properties file with this name. Where should such properties files go? Would it be acceptable to place them in a subdirectory of brailleblaster called propertiesfiles? Since ResourceBundle is an abstract class, it canot be instantiated. I'm rather puzzled about how all this fits together. John -- John J. Boyer; President, Chief Software Developer Abilitiessoft, Inc. http://www.abilitiessoft.com Madison, Wisconsin USA Developing software for people with disabilities