I don't remember the beginning of the discussion, and its expired here, but whats wrong with msb = 1 << sizeof(object); extracted_bit = object & msb; -- --- UUCP: ..!ihnp4!chinet!uklpl!rlk || MCIMail: rklappal || Compuserve: 74106,1021 ..!ihnp4!ihu1h!rlk ---