Thanks for that jcl. I can fix that.
But, I hate to keep pestering you, but why doesnt this work:

bool firsttime=true;
function run()
{
BarPeriod = 60;
TimeFrame = H1;
Lots=1;
Margin=0;
set(LOGFILE);
StartDate=20080102;
EndDate=20080131;
var acctbal;
string buff;

if(firsttime){
buff= file_content("History\\atestfile.txt");
firsttime=false;
printf("# \n %s \n", buff);
}
else {
printf("# \n first time is not true \n");
}
}

the results I get are :


BackTest: atest EUR/USD 2008
[1: Wed 02.01. 10:00] 1.46545
first time is not true

[2: Wed 02.01. 11:00] 1.46624
first time is not true

this doesn't make sense to me, sorry. I've tried various ways to do this and none of them work. What am I doing wrong. This shouldn't be this difficult.
P