Switching from "Register_Globals=On"

To prototype my site, I've used "register_globals=on", and "track_vars=on". I'm at the point where I would like to switch the globals "off', and prepare the site for production use. My problem is that I don't know how to implement the use of $HTTP_SESSION_VARS or $_SESSION in my webapages (or where to put the "if (isset($_SESSION . . .)" I assumed the logical place would be at the opening page (index.php) that has the menu structure. I put the call the "if(isset . . .)" right at the top of this page (before the HTML), and the page loads. However, when I call other pages and attempt to call up the database conection, I get an "undefined function" error [ Btw: everything worked great with globals=on]. What I'm not clear on: if I'm using $HTTP_SESSION_VARS or $_SESSION do I have to put something declaring such on every page that I've written (at this point there are 47 of them)? Or do I declare a session on the opening page? I assumed that by doing so, with track_vars enabled, the vars would automatically be transferred to each new page within the session. Am I missing something here? All my variables are in the form of $sfname or $rcity, and so on. I've read the manual on "Session handling functions", but I must have a thick block on this concept . What should I do now that I want to use $HTTP_SESSION_VARS or $_SESSION ? How do I implement it on secondary pages? Will I be facing a major re-write of all my code? [Gulp :>] Any help or pointers where to read up would be greatly appreciated. Tia, Andre -- Please pray the Holy Rosary to end the holocaust of abortion. Remember in your prayers the Holy Souls in Purgatory. May God bless you abundantly in His love! For a free Cenacle Scriptural Rosary Booklet: http://www.webhart.net/csrb/