[App_rpt-users] event subsystem variable use in system call

I am learning about the event subsystem. One of my events looks like this: echo bla ${RPT_ALINKS} >> /tmp/blabla = s|T|RPT_NUMLINKS This executes when I connect. The contents of /tmp/blabla is simply bla. I would have expected ${RPT_ALINKS} to have been expanded. Am I assuming functionality that doesn't exist? Lowell