Thanks for the input Ian, I figured out the problem which really involved how I was logging into the database. There was a note on Metalink where somebody was having the same problem I was experiencing - the file would be created, but either nothing would be written, or you'd get a write error. The difference was that they were executing their procedure via a dblink and got the problem fixed when they replaced and restarted their listener. Thinking through this, I realized that this particular database had been installed by a contractor who started everything as the SAP admin user, and not as the Oracle user who "owns" the database and the listener. ps -ef showed all the core oracle processes(pmon, smon, dbwr, etc.) were owned by p01adm. So I switched to that user, went to the Oracle bin directory and started sqlplus from there, again not as the UNIX Oracle user, but as the UNIX SAP user. Logged in as normal, and voila - it works. Seems UTL_FILE picks up permissions/groups from the UNIX user that either started the database or started the listener. Hard won knowledge, but hopefully it will save somebody else the pain I've been through the last several hours. Hope everyone has a great weekend. David A. Barbour Oracle DBA, OCP (feeling a little lighter as I trod the path) -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: David A. Barbour INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services -- (858) 538-5051 FAX: (858) 538-5051 San Diego, California -- Public Internet access / Mailing Lists -------------------------------------------------------------------- To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
