Ok. I've gotten myself pretty confused now. Given a dtml method in a folder containing : <!--#var this-->, which correctly identifies the parent folder, yet if I call this() indirectly, from another dtml method, I get a KeyError: this So then I call the second dtml method using (parent=this,... which contains: <!--#var parent-->, which provides the correct object instance. However, when I try to <!--#var "_.getattr(parent ... I get a failed authorization even though I am using the Manager role... Why does an indirectly referenced dtml : 1) not know who it's parent object (folder) is through this()? 2) fail an authentication when accessing the parent object when passed as a parameter when it has permission. Note this problem only exists when the send dtml method is indirectly referenced. If it is called directly, this(), etc work fine. So what's the problem with indirection? Or how can I obtain a usable parent object from within an indirecatly referenced dtml method for use with getattr()? Thanks Kent