Ok I figgured it out <grin> first I created a mini shell script vi getmail fetchmail connix.com chmod +x getmail <makes getmail executable> crontab -e <creates and edits a crontab in the users dir> 30 * * * * sh getmail<30 min,every month,day runs the shell script getmail> Im sure there are other methods using the full path rather than a shell script but it works for me. So now Ill tweek it so it gets the mail rite befor I get up in the am and have my coffee.. just fire up pine! any one have suggestions for downloading news ;-) seriously when its working.. fetchmail, procmail, diald, cron... its a beautifull thing!! rob -- Linux Home Page <A HREF="http://www.connix.com/~dizzy73/LBM.htm"><A HREF="http://www.connix.com/~dizzy73/LBM.htm</A">http://www.connix.com/~dizzy73/LBM.htm</A</A>> Powered By ---> S.u.S.E 5.3 - To get out of this list, please send email to majordomo@suse.com with this text in its body: unsubscribe suse-linux-e Check out the SuSE-FAQ at <A HREF="http://www.suse.com/Support/Doku/FAQ/"><A HREF="http://www.suse.com/Support/Doku/FAQ/</A">http://www.suse.com/Support/Doku/FAQ/</A</A>> and the archiv at <A HREF="http://www.suse.com/Mailinglists/suse-linux-e/index.html"><A HREF="http://www.suse.com/Mailinglists/suse-linux-e/index.html</A">http://www.suse.com/Mailinglists/suse-linux-e/index.html</A</A>>