I do not know any way to make the exit command in nano do what the exit command does in the pine composer. In my setup the nano exit command leaves the editor but goes into the spellchecker automatically before returning to pine, so the extra use of "control-X" does not seem quite so artificial. Dan, I think you are already doing what Janina suggested, unless I have missed something important in the pine configuration. And I never miss important things!!! Chuck Visit me at http://www.valstar.net/~hallenbeck The Moon is Waning Crescent (48% of Full)