Charlie- the problem is when you use the variable var_nm.dot because the server interprets that as a reference to a nested variable ("dot" inside some container named "var_nm") and that of course fails. A partial workaround is possible the client side, which I will implement. I do not yet know what is the proper fix on the server side (a fix that does not break other stuff). =Dennis Heimbigner Unidata Ticket Details =================== Ticket ID: RVK-949505 Department: Support netCDF Priority: Normal Status: Open