Thanks guys for all the answers, But I have one more question and please excuse my ignorance here. In the way we are using log4j we don't do any initialization, instead the static code in the Category class does the reading of the properties file and that code calls configure and not configureAndWatch. Does this mean I have to extend the Category class and do smth? And if I extend category class how do I prevent the static code in Category class from executing. Thanks for all the help again. Sajid. --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]