Hello Markus, > import os > if os.path.exists("path_fo_file"): > print "yes" thx a lot .. this works fine. Do you know if there is a coditional operator in python ( ?: ) e.g. if os.path.exists("gbook.txt"): db_first = 0; else: db_first = 1; db_first = ( os.path.exists("gbook.txt") ) ? 0:1; So long ... Hannes