note remiah So, what's going on if first open, let it open with utf-8 io layer? <code> open (FH, ">$outputfile") or die "$!"; </code> revise to <code> open (OUTPUT, ">:encoding(UTF-8)",$outputfile or die "$!"; </code> What is the result? <p> <b>update:</b><br> Second question: Is that $givenname?<br> </p> 989377 989965