>"fi" marks the end of an "if" clause. The "export CLASSPATH..." command >should be after this and all on one line. Remember you need to log out >and back in before this will have any effect. Paul, I've placed the command after the 'fi' like this: " # If the user has her own init file, then use that one, else use the # canonical one. if [ -f ~/.bashrc ]; then . ~/.bashrc elif [ -f ${default_dir}Bashrc ]; then . ${default_dir}Bashrc; fi export CLASSPATH=/home/dan " dan is a user (me). If I log in as user dan, open a terminal window, use the command env shall I then see CLASSPATH=/home/dan? /dan