ASSUMPTION: It appear that all objects in a JSP file get serialized. Q1: Is there an equivalent of TRANSIENT in JSP, ..since transient doesn't work? Q2: Is there any other way to control serialization? NOTE: I have the singleton class working nicely with a factory class. The problem is that I need a reference to the singleton in the JSP file, ..so it gets serialized twice (ONCE FROM BY THE FACTORY - ONCE BECAUSE IT'S IN JSP FILE, ..NOT SO GOOD). Current fix includes taking the implements Externalizable away from the singleton, but leaving the read/writeExternal functions in the class, so the factory can call them. The only "problem" is that JSP/Orion reports that the object is not Serializable, ..but in reality the object gets serialized elsewhere (not a bug, just looks wrong). Any suggestions? Thanks, -arnox