Programming error. There was an "when others" exception handler which closed the file. It was within a loop and processing continued thus next write attempt failed. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ We are getting the invalid_filehandle error after outputting a dozen rows of data. The error started after an extra column was added to the output line. This column is coming from a table. If we hard code the entry in place of the database column - it works. However, if use the database column we get the error. We do get output for some and then hit the row that is causing a problem. What conditions would cause this kind of error. Jeffrey Beckstrom Database Administrator Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority 1240 W. 6th Street Cleveland, Ohio 44113