>If Mark's idea was to dump variables into a text file of some sort just for debugging purposes, then List Status is the way. Save/Restore is just plain dirty IMO, and very risky. It may have unexpected effects.

I agree with your points (especially the prefixing stuff). But it is also astonishingly fast if you have complex array structures in need of persistence - it is also an arrow to keep in mind for interprocess communication if large amounts of data need to be exchanged. "Dirty" is not always bad (and never if WE do it <bg>).

regards

thomas