Hey Jared, I am using the ksh and it supports the "backslash" characters. I do not think the issue is with my echo commands because the output when viewed through vi or pg on the Unix platform looks fine. It is when I look at it in Outlook that the lines are not aligned. :) Jared Still <jkstill@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: Actually, Ron's advice was correct. The echo command varies a bit from shell to shell and flavor of unix. There is an 'echo' built into the shell, and a standalone command. Proper use of the echo command in your script would make the difference. Jared On 3/21/06, Stankus, Paula <stankup@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: Thanks Sinardy. That was much more helpful. J I am trying to open directly from Microsoft Outlook as I use mailx to send it. J -----Original Message----- From: Sinardy Xing [mailto:oracle.rdbms@xxxxxxxxx] Sent: Monday, March 20, 2006 9:53 PM To: Ron.Reidy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Cc: Stankus, Paula; ORACLE-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: Unix output formatting On 3/21/06, Reidy, Ron < Ron.Reidy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: man echo -----Original Message----- From: oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Stankus, Paula Sent: Monday, March 20, 2006 2:40 PM To: ORACLE-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: RE: Unix output formatting I have a script that does the following: ########################################################### echo "EXPORT FOR $DBNAME" > $LOGFILE echo "----------------------------------------------------" >> $LOGFILE echo Todays date is ......................: $DATESTR >> $LOGFILE echo The Log File for Today is ...........: $LOGFILE >> $LOGFILE echo The Path for Oracle Home is .........: $ORACLE_HOME >> $LOGFILE #echo The Oracle Sid is ...................: $ORACLE_SID >> $LOGFILE echo "\n" echo The hostname is .....................: $HNAME >> $LOGFILE echo "\n" echo The DBNAME is .......................: $DBNAME >> $LOGFILE echo "----------------------------------------------------" >> $LOGFILE echo Begin the export process at .........: `date` >> $LOGFILE echo The output in Unix lines up nicely: EXPORT FOR remedy ---------------------------------------------------- Todays date is ......................: 20060320 The Log File for Today is ...........: /backup/exports/remedy_export.log_2006032 0 The Path for Oracle Home is .........: /oracle/app/oracle/product/10.2.0 The hostname is .....................: test The DBNAME is .......................: remedy ---------------------------------------------------- Begin the export process at .........: Mon Mar 20 16:35:28 EST 2006 **** EXPORT SUCCESS **** However, when the output is mailed it is off: EXPORT FOR remedy ---------------------------------------------------- Todays date is ......................: 20060320 The Log File for Today is ...........: /backup/exports/remedy_export.log_20060320 The Path for Oracle Home is .........: /oracle/app/oracle/product/10.2.0 The hostname is .....................: test The DBNAME is .......................: remedy ---------------------------------------------------- Begin the export process at .........: Mon Mar 20 16:35:28 EST 2006 **** EXPORT SUCCESS **** Any suggestions on how I can make sure "the hostname" and The DBNAME are on separate lines? --------------------------------- This electronic message transmission is a PRIVATE communication which contains information which may be confidential or privileged. The information is intended to be for the use of the individual or entity named above. If you are not the intended recipient, please be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of the contents of this information is prohibited. Please notify the sender of the delivery error by replying to this message, or notify us by telephone (877-633-2436, ext. 0), and then delete it from your system. Look like you try to open a unix text file with notepad, try wordpad? or try ftp with asc mode -- regards, Sinardy -- Jared Still Certifiable Oracle DBA and Part Time Perl Evangelist --------------------------------- Yahoo! Mail Use Photomail to share photos without annoying attachments.