hi, example script snippet (not entirely self-contained, sorry, you need a dataset that contains obs 2000:1): <hansl> bundle b = null string s1 = "2000:1" eval obsnum(s1) # gives valid number b.str1 = s1 # bundle b pre-existing printf "%s\n", b.str1 # gives "2000:1" eval obsnum(b.str1) # gives "NA"!? </hansl> I know / have been told that _commands_ often cannot understand the bundle syntax. (So 'var mybundle.lagorder mylist' doesn't work.) But I would think that a _function_ like obsnum() should work with stuff like the above. thanks, sven