>>>Oracle claims the create pfile from spfile command results >>>in an ascii file, which technically is correct, but it's got >>>special ascii characters so notepad or the like isn't >>>suitable to edit it. I'll probably use a hex editor, but I >>>wondered how exact I have to be on using these special >>>characters around the static parameter I need to add. Has >>>anybody had to edit one of these? try this (works like a charm): $ strings - spfile.ora > pfile.ora Notepad? Ahhh, windows...use cygwin or mks strings command -- //www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l