Hans Hagen wrote: the problem (if you look into the mp file) is that there is *no* beginfig; this is because we now use a more stupid (stripped down) variant of saving the graphic. Right, I looked into the mp file and saw the new plan. \startstaticMPfigure{fig} beginfig(1); boxit.h(btex h etex); drawboxed(h); endfig; \stopstaticMPfigure i'll add the b/e to the main macro. I briefly thought about adding the beginfig..endfig by hand, but I figured it would fail because texexec would wrap another beginfig..endfig around it -- since it didn't know that some parts of the file needed to go outside the beginfig..endfig. However, a simple experiment trumps a fine theory: I added the beginfig..endfig and it worked. But the theory wasn't all wrong. Here's a snippet of texexec-mpgraph.mp ============================================== beginfig(1); verbatimtex \global \loadfontfileoncetrue etex; input boxes beginfig(1) boxit.h(btex h etex ); drawboxed(h); endfig; ; endfig; ============================================== Not sure how metapost managed to deal with the nested beginfig's, but it did. Here's what the log said: 2 output files written: texexec-mpgraph.1 .. texexec-mpgraph.1 It looks like a fragile method. Instead the beginfig..endfig should be put in explicitly into the mp file (just as you said) and the inclusions should go outside the beginfig..endfig. -Sanjoy `A society of sheep must in time beget a government of wolves.' -- Bertrand de Jouvenal