diff --git a/tools/bin/asm-11_expect b/tools/bin/asm-11_expect
index 27bfd8f3..e38c1357 100755
--- a/tools/bin/asm-11_expect
+++ b/tools/bin/asm-11_expect
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 #!/usr/bin/perl -w
-# $Id: asm-11_expect 1172 2019-06-29 07:27:24Z mueller $
+# $Id: asm-11_expect 1189 2019-07-13 16:41:07Z mueller $
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later
 # Copyright 2013-2019 by Walter F.J. Mueller <W.F.J.Mueller@gsi.de>
 #
 #  Revision History:
 # Date         Rev Version  Comment
+# 2019-07-13  1189   1.1.2  drop superfluous exists for $opts
 # 2019-05-25  1152   1.1.1  skip data checks if dot not defined
 # 2018-11-03  1065   1.1    add and use bailout; update exit code usage
 # 2013-03-29   500   1.0    Initial version
@@ -28,7 +29,7 @@ my $errcnt;                                 # total error count
 
 autoflush STDOUT 1 if (-p STDOUT);          # autoflush if output into pipe
 
-if (exists $opts{help}) {
+if ($opts{help}) {
   print_help();
   exit 0;
 }
diff --git a/tools/bin/config_wrapper b/tools/bin/config_wrapper
index 2e57d58f..68f03f8a 100755
--- a/tools/bin/config_wrapper
+++ b/tools/bin/config_wrapper
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 #!/usr/bin/perl -w
-# $Id: config_wrapper 1172 2019-06-29 07:27:24Z mueller $
+# $Id: config_wrapper 1189 2019-07-13 16:41:07Z mueller $
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later
 # Copyright 2010-2019 by Walter F.J. Mueller <W.F.J.Mueller@gsi.de>
 #
 #  Revision History:
 # Date         Rev Version  Comment
+# 2019-07-13  1189   1.1.10 drop superfluous exists for $opts
 # 2018-12-18  1089   1.1.9  add and use bailout
 # 2013-09-21   534   1.1.8  add nexys4 support
 # 2013-01-02   467   1.1.7  jconfig: prepend '0x' to support 'jtag #2007'
@@ -48,7 +49,7 @@ if (not defined $opts{path}) {
 
 autoflush STDOUT 1 if (-p STDOUT);          # autoflush if output into pipe
 
-if (exists $opts{help}) {
+if ($opts{help}) {
   print_help();
   exit 0;
 }
diff --git a/tools/bin/console_starter b/tools/bin/console_starter
index 476a7a8a..48c360c3 100755
--- a/tools/bin/console_starter
+++ b/tools/bin/console_starter
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 #!/usr/bin/perl -w
-# $Id: console_starter 1172 2019-06-29 07:27:24Z mueller $
+# $Id: console_starter 1189 2019-07-13 16:41:07Z mueller $
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later
 # Copyright 2009-2019 by Walter F.J. Mueller <W.F.J.Mueller@gsi.de>
 #
 #  Revision History:
 # Date         Rev  Vers    Comment
+# 2019-07-13  1189   1.1.1  drop superfluous exists for $opts
 # 2014-08-10   581   1.1    rename to console_starter
 # 2010-07-04   312   1.0.3  correct telnet_wrapper path
 # 2010-04-26   284   1.0.2  add error check for GetOptions
@@ -21,7 +22,7 @@ my %opts = ();
 GetOptions(\%opts, "h", "t:s", "d:s", "s", "w", "l")
   or die "bad options";
 
-if (exists $opts{h}) {
+if ($opts{h}) {
   print "usage: console_starter [-h] [-t type] [-d type] [-s] [-w] [-l]\n";
   print "  -h       help, print this text and quit\n";
   print "  -t term  set terminal type, vt100 or vt52 (def: vt100)\n";
@@ -61,7 +62,7 @@ if (exists $opts{d}) {
   }
 }
 
-if (exists $opts{s}) {                      # simh ports
+if ($opts{s}) {                             # simh ports
   $port = 5670 if ($dev eq "DL");
   $port = 5671 if ($dev eq "DZ");
   $title = sprintf "\"%s %s\"", $dev, $term;
@@ -73,8 +74,8 @@ if (exists $opts{s}) {                      # simh ports
 
 my $geo_w = 80;
 my $geo_l = 24;
-$geo_w = 132 if exists $opts{w};
-$geo_l =  48 if exists $opts{l};
+$geo_w = 132 if $opts{w};
+$geo_l =  48 if $opts{l};
 
 push @args, "-j", "-rightbar", "-sb", "-sl", "500";
 push @args, "-bg", "gray90", "-fg", "black";
diff --git a/tools/bin/create_disk b/tools/bin/create_disk
index a44159c5..09053694 100755
--- a/tools/bin/create_disk
+++ b/tools/bin/create_disk
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 #!/usr/bin/perl -w
-# $Id: create_disk 1172 2019-06-29 07:27:24Z mueller $
+# $Id: create_disk 1189 2019-07-13 16:41:07Z mueller $
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later
 # Copyright 2013-2019 by Walter F.J. Mueller <W.F.J.Mueller@gsi.de>
 #
 #  Revision History:
 # Date         Rev Version  Comment
+# 2019-07-13  1189   1.1.4  drop superfluous exists for $opts
 # 2018-12-18  1089   1.1.3  add and use bailout
 # 2015-06-21   692   1.1.2  use sysseek rather seek; add RM80
 # 2015-04-06   665   1.1.1  add alias RM03 (for RM02) and RP05 (for RP04)
@@ -40,7 +41,7 @@ my %disktype = (
 
 autoflush STDOUT 1 if (-p STDOUT);          # autoflush if output into pipe
 
-if (exists $opts{help}) {
+if ($opts{help}) {
   print_help(1);
   exit 0;
 }
diff --git a/tools/bin/dmpcntanal b/tools/bin/dmpcntanal
index 9bb9729a..f425d196 100755
--- a/tools/bin/dmpcntanal
+++ b/tools/bin/dmpcntanal
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 #!/usr/bin/perl -w
-# $Id: dmpcntanal 1172 2019-06-29 07:27:24Z mueller $
+# $Id: dmpcntanal 1189 2019-07-13 16:41:07Z mueller $
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later
 # Copyright 2018-2019 by Walter F.J. Mueller <W.F.J.Mueller@gsi.de>
 #
 #  Revision History:
 # Date         Rev Version  Comment
+# 2019-07-13  1189   1.0.1  drop superfluous exists for $opts
 # 2018-10-19  1057   1.0    Initial version
 # 2018-10-06  1053   0.1    First draft
 #
@@ -76,7 +77,7 @@ my %hdif;
 
 autoflush STDOUT 1 if (-p STDOUT);          # autoflush if output into pipe
 
-if (exists $opts{help}) {
+if ($opts{help}) {
   print_help();
   exit 0;
 }
diff --git a/tools/bin/dmscntanal b/tools/bin/dmscntanal
index cebf2458..c43b7300 100755
--- a/tools/bin/dmscntanal
+++ b/tools/bin/dmscntanal
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 #!/usr/bin/perl -w
-# $Id: dmscntanal 1172 2019-06-29 07:27:24Z mueller $
+# $Id: dmscntanal 1189 2019-07-13 16:41:07Z mueller $
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later
 # Copyright 2015-2019 by Walter F.J. Mueller <W.F.J.Mueller@gsi.de>
 #
 #  Revision History:
 # Date         Rev Version  Comment
+# 2019-07-13  1189   1.0.2  drop superfluous exists for $opts
 # 2018-12-18  1089   1.0.1  add and use bailout
 # 2015-06-28   696   1.0    Initial version
 #
@@ -30,7 +31,7 @@ my $sum_um;
 
 autoflush STDOUT 1 if (-p STDOUT);          # autoflush if output into pipe
 
-if (exists $opts{help}) {
+if ($opts{help}) {
   print_help();
   exit 0;
 }
@@ -38,7 +39,7 @@ if (exists $opts{help}) {
 foreach my $file (@ARGV) {
   read_file($file);
   add_groups();
-  show_raw() if exists $opts{raw};
+  show_raw() if $opts{raw};
   show_frac();
 }
 
diff --git a/tools/bin/dmscntconv b/tools/bin/dmscntconv
index a96c7acd..ddfa5f09 100755
--- a/tools/bin/dmscntconv
+++ b/tools/bin/dmscntconv
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 #!/usr/bin/perl -w
-# $Id: dmscntconv 1172 2019-06-29 07:27:24Z mueller $
+# $Id: dmscntconv 1189 2019-07-13 16:41:07Z mueller $
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later
 # Copyright 2015-2019 by Walter F.J. Mueller <W.F.J.Mueller@gsi.de>
 #
 #  Revision History:
 # Date         Rev Version  Comment
+# 2019-07-13  1189   1.0.3  drop superfluous exists for $opts
 # 2018-12-18  1089   1.0.2  add and use bailout
 # 2015-12-28   721   1.0.1  adopt to new syntax of STATE2SNUM mapper
 # 2015-06-27   695   1.0    Initial version
@@ -28,7 +29,7 @@ my %dat_um;
 
 autoflush STDOUT 1 if (-p STDOUT);          # autoflush if output into pipe
 
-if (exists $opts{help}) {
+if ($opts{help}) {
   print_help();
   exit 0;
 }
diff --git a/tools/bin/fx2load_wrapper b/tools/bin/fx2load_wrapper
index fae39d84..7015ddb8 100755
--- a/tools/bin/fx2load_wrapper
+++ b/tools/bin/fx2load_wrapper
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 #!/usr/bin/perl -w
-# $Id: fx2load_wrapper 1172 2019-06-29 07:27:24Z mueller $
+# $Id: fx2load_wrapper 1189 2019-07-13 16:41:07Z mueller $
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later
 # Copyright 2011-2019 by Walter F.J. Mueller <W.F.J.Mueller@gsi.de>
 #
 #  Revision History:
 # Date         Rev Version  Comment
+# 2019-07-13  1189   1.1.1  drop superfluous exists for $opts
 # 2014-08-10   581   1.1    use _ic instead of _as as default firmware
 # 2012-02-11   457   1.0.1  use RETRO_FX2_VID/PID; check iProduct string
 # 2011-12-29   446   1.0    Initial version
@@ -44,7 +45,7 @@ if (not defined $opts{ihx_path}) {
 
 autoflush STDOUT 1 if (-p STDOUT);          # autoflush if output into pipe
 
-if (exists $opts{help}) {
+if ($opts{help}) {
   print_help();
   exit 0;
 }
diff --git a/tools/bin/github_md2html b/tools/bin/github_md2html
index 470f00e6..ae94c0f0 100755
--- a/tools/bin/github_md2html
+++ b/tools/bin/github_md2html
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 #!/usr/bin/perl -w
-# $Id: github_md2html 1172 2019-06-29 07:27:24Z mueller $
+# $Id: github_md2html 1189 2019-07-13 16:41:07Z mueller $
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later
 # Copyright 2016-2019 by Walter F.J. Mueller <W.F.J.Mueller@gsi.de>
 #
 #  Revision History:
 # Date         Rev Version  Comment
+# 2019-07-13  1189   1.1.5  drop superfluous exists for $opts
 # 2018-12-18  1089   1.1.4  add and use bailout
 # 2018-10-19  1057   1.1.3  add --verbose; don't list up-to-date files anymore
 # 2018-07-02  1033   1.1.2  use non-greedy match in -stand code
@@ -34,7 +35,7 @@ my $url_css_ghmdbody = "https://wfjm.github.io/css/github-markdown-body.css";
 autoflush STDOUT 1 if (-p STDOUT);          # autoflush if output into pipe
 autoflush STDOUT 1 if (-t STDOUT);          # autoflush if output into term
 
-if (exists $opts{help}) {
+if ($opts{help}) {
   print_help();
   exit 0;
 }
@@ -77,7 +78,7 @@ sub do_request {
   for (my $nretry=0; $nretry<10; $nretry++) {
     my $res  = $ua->request($req);
 
-    if (exists $opts{dump}) {
+    if ($opts{dump}) {
       print "------------------------------------------------------\n";
       print "response for $ifile\n";
       print $res->as_string,"\n";
@@ -115,7 +116,7 @@ sub do_request {
 sub do_md2html {
   my ($ifile) = @_;
   my $ofile = "$ifile.html";
-  my $doit = exists $opts{force} || (not -e $ofile);
+  my $doit = $opts{force} || (not -e $ofile);
 
   unless ($doit) {
     # -M returns <script_start_time> - <file_modify_time> in fractional days
@@ -166,7 +167,7 @@ sub do_md2html {
     $req->content($idata);
   }
 
-  if (exists $opts{dump}) {
+  if ($opts{dump}) {
     print "------------------------------------------------------\n";
     print "request for $ifile\n";
     print $req->as_string,"\n";
@@ -177,7 +178,7 @@ sub do_md2html {
 
   my $html = $res->decoded_content;
 
-  if (exists $opts{standalone}) {
+  if ($opts{standalone}) {
     $html =~ s{<a(.*?)href="(.+?)"}{        # non-greedy matches !!
       my $hopt = $1;
       my $href = "$2";
@@ -185,15 +186,15 @@ sub do_md2html {
         if ($href =~ m|^(.+\.md)(#.*)?$|) {
           $href  = $1 . '.html';
           $href .= $2 if defined $2;
-          print "  hmap: $href\n" if exists $opts{trace};
+          print "  hmap: $href\n" if $opts{trace};
         } else {
           if (-d "$ifile_path/$href") {
             $href =~ s|/$||;                # drop trailing '/'
             if (-r "$ifile_path/$href/README.md") {
               $href .= '/README.md.html';
-              print "  dmap: $href: ok\n" if exists $opts{trace};
+              print "  dmap: $href: ok\n" if $opts{trace};
             } else {
-              print "  dmap: $href: skipped\n" if exists $opts{trace};
+              print "  dmap: $href: skipped\n" if $opts{trace};
             }
           }
         }
diff --git a/tools/bin/ldadump b/tools/bin/ldadump
index 53cd9c64..e8f1c1fa 100755
--- a/tools/bin/ldadump
+++ b/tools/bin/ldadump
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 #!/usr/bin/perl -w
-# $Id: ldadump 1172 2019-06-29 07:27:24Z mueller $
+# $Id: ldadump 1189 2019-07-13 16:41:07Z mueller $
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later
 # Copyright 2019- by Walter F.J. Mueller <W.F.J.Mueller@gsi.de>
 #
 #  Revision History:
 # Date         Rev Version  Comment
+# 2019-07-13  1189   1.0.2  drop superfluous exists for $opts
 # 2019-04-19  1133   1.0.1  better -trec format of start address record
 # 2019-04-13  1131   1.0    Initial version
 #
@@ -20,7 +21,7 @@ my %opts = ();
 GetOptions(\%opts, "help", "lsm", "tbyt", "trec")
   or bailout("bad command options");
 
-if (exists $opts{help}) {
+if ($opts{help}) {
   print_help();
   exit 0;
 }
diff --git a/tools/bin/svn_set_ignore b/tools/bin/svn_set_ignore
index f17db32f..2d04e0d9 100755
--- a/tools/bin/svn_set_ignore
+++ b/tools/bin/svn_set_ignore
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 #!/usr/bin/perl -w
-# $Id: svn_set_ignore 1172 2019-06-29 07:27:24Z mueller $
+# $Id: svn_set_ignore 1189 2019-07-13 16:41:07Z mueller $
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later
 # Copyright 2007-2019 by Walter F.J. Mueller <W.F.J.Mueller@gsi.de>
 #
 #  Revision History:
 # Date         Rev  Vers    Comment
+# 2019-07-13  1189   1.2.3  drop superfluous exists for $opts
 # 2018-12-18  1089   1.2.2  add and use bailout
 # 2017-05-27   899   1.2.1  check svn:ignore existance before reading it
 # 2016-12-17   821   1.2    use .gitignore rather .cvsignore
@@ -62,7 +63,7 @@ sub do_dir {
     if (not exists $ignores{$d}) {
       $ignores{$d} = ();
       if (-r "$d/.gitignore") {
-        print "read $d/.gitignore\n" if exists $opts{trace};
+        print "read $d/.gitignore\n" if $opts{trace};
         open (CVSIG, "$d/.gitignore")
           or bailout("failed to read '$d/.gitignore': $!");
         while (<CVSIG>) {
@@ -70,7 +71,7 @@ sub do_dir {
           next if /^\s*$/;                  # ignore empty or space only lines
           next if /^#/;                     # ignore comments
           push @{$ignores{$d}}, $_;
-          print "   $_\n" if exists $opts{trace};
+          print "   $_\n" if $opts{trace};
         }
         close (CVSIG);
       }
@@ -118,7 +119,7 @@ sub do_dir {
     print "new svn:ignore:\n";
     print "   ", join("\n   ",@new_ipat),"\n";
 
-    if (not exists $opts{"dry-run"}) {
+    if (not $opts{"dry-run"}) {
       open (TMP, ">/tmp/svn_set_ignore_$$")
         or bailout("failed to open tmp file: $1");
       print TMP join("\n",@new_ipat),"\n";
diff --git a/tools/bin/tap2file b/tools/bin/tap2file
index 07eec401..b91fe3ec 100755
--- a/tools/bin/tap2file
+++ b/tools/bin/tap2file
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 #!/usr/bin/perl -w
-# $Id: tap2file 1180 2019-07-08 15:46:59Z mueller $
+# $Id: tap2file 1189 2019-07-13 16:41:07Z mueller $
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later
 # Copyright 2015-2019 by Walter F.J. Mueller <W.F.J.Mueller@gsi.de>
 #
 #  Revision History:
 # Date         Rev Version  Comment
+# 2019-07-13  1189   1.0.4  drop superfluous exists for $opts
 # 2019-07-08  1180   1.0.3  BUGFIX in rlmax calculation; add -v option
 # 2018-12-18  1089   1.0.2  add and use bailout
 # 2015-06-03   686   1.0.1  add print_usage; cleanups
@@ -24,7 +25,7 @@ my %opts = ();
 GetOptions(\%opts, "pref=s", "v", "help")
   or bailout("bad command options");
 
-if (scalar(@ARGV) == 0 || exists $opts{help}) {
+if (scalar(@ARGV) == 0 || $opts{help}) {
   print_usage();
   exit 0;
 }
diff --git a/tools/bin/tmuconv b/tools/bin/tmuconv
index 04aeb3ac..503ed55b 100755
--- a/tools/bin/tmuconv
+++ b/tools/bin/tmuconv
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 #!/usr/bin/perl -w
-# $Id: tmuconv 1172 2019-06-29 07:27:24Z mueller $
+# $Id: tmuconv 1189 2019-07-13 16:41:07Z mueller $
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later
 # Copyright 2008-2019 by Walter F.J. Mueller <W.F.J.Mueller@gsi.de>
 #
 #  Revision History:
 # Date         Rev Version  Comment
+# 2019-07-13  1189   1.1.4  drop superfluous exists for $opts
 # 2018-12-18  1089   1.1.3  add and use bailout
 # 2018-10-05  1053   1.1.2  use 'ca.*' instead of 'sy.*' fields
 # 2015-11-01   712   1.1.1  BUGFIX: fix '.' handling for br/sob instructions
@@ -435,7 +436,7 @@ my %pdp11_regs = (			    # use simh naming convention
 
 autoflush STDOUT 1 if (-p STDOUT);          # autoflush if output into pipe
 
-if (exists $opts{help}) {
+if ($opts{help}) {
   print_help();
   exit 0;
 }
@@ -557,7 +558,7 @@ sub do_file {
 	next;
       }
 
-      @val_curr_text = @val_curr  if exists $opts{dump} || exists $opts{cdump};
+      @val_curr_text = @val_curr  if $opts{dump} || $opts{cdump};
 
       my $cyc_curr = int $val_curr[0];
       my $cyc_str  = sprintf "%8d", $cyc_curr;
@@ -577,7 +578,7 @@ sub do_file {
       my $ibreq_we  = 0;
       my $ibreq_act = 0;
 
-      if (exists $opts{dump} || exists $opts{cdump}) {
+      if ($opts{dump} || $opts{cdump}) {
 	my @val_change;
 	my $any_change;
 
@@ -587,16 +588,16 @@ sub do_file {
 	  $any_change |= $change;
 	}
 
-	if (exists $opts{dump} || $any_change) {
+	if ($opts{dump} || $any_change) {
 	  printf "cycle $cyc_str %s", "-" x 32;
-	  if ($notfirst && exists $opts{cdump}) {
+	  if ($notfirst && $opts{cdump}) {
 	    printf " (%d)",$cyc_curr-$change_cyc;
 	  }
 	  print "\n";
 
 	  for (my $i=1; $i<scalar(@val_curr); $i++) {
 	    my $oper = $val_change[$i] ? "<=" : " =";
-	    if (exists $opts{dump} || $val_change[$i]) {
+	    if ($opts{dump} || $val_change[$i]) {
 	      printf "   %-16s:%s %s %s\n", $var_name[$i], $var_type[$i],
 		                            $oper, $val_curr_text[$i];
 	    }
@@ -608,7 +609,7 @@ sub do_file {
 # handle t_id
 #   uses cycles with dp_ireg_we = '1'
 #
-      if (exists $opts{t_id} and $notfirst) {
+      if ($opts{t_id} and $notfirst) {
 	if ($val_curr[$ind_dp_ireg_we_last]) {
 	  my $pc   = $val_curr[$ind_dp_pc] - 2;
 	  my $psw  = $val_curr[$ind_dp_psw];
@@ -630,7 +631,7 @@ sub do_file {
 # handle t_ru
 #   uses cycles with dp_gpr_we = '1'
 #
-      if (exists $opts{t_ru}) {
+      if ($opts{t_ru}) {
 	if ($val_curr[$ind_dp_gpr_we]) {
 	  my $adst  = $val_curr[$ind_dp_gpr_adst];
 	  my $mode  = $val_curr[$ind_dp_gpr_mode];
@@ -671,7 +672,7 @@ sub do_file {
 #                    vm_emsres_ack_w = '1'
 #                    vm_emsreq_cancel = '1'
 #
-      if (exists $opts{t_em}) {
+      if ($opts{t_em}) {
 	if ($val_curr[$ind_vm_emmreq_req]) {
 	  $emreq_cyc = $cyc_curr;
 	  $emreq_str = sprintf "%s %s %8.8o",
@@ -745,7 +746,7 @@ sub do_file {
 #                    sy_ibsres_ack = '1'
 #                    vm_ibsres_busy '1' -> '0' transition
 #
-      if (exists $opts{t_ib}) {
+      if ($opts{t_ib}) {
 	if ($val_curr[$ind_vm_ibmreq_re] || $val_curr[$ind_vm_ibmreq_we]) {
 	  my $addr_str = sprintf "%6.6o", $val_curr[$ind_vm_ibmreq_addr];
 	  $ibreq_cyc = $cyc_curr;
diff --git a/tools/bin/vbomconv b/tools/bin/vbomconv
index 6fd3c737..0547360c 100755
--- a/tools/bin/vbomconv
+++ b/tools/bin/vbomconv
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 #!/usr/bin/perl -w
-# $Id: vbomconv 1172 2019-06-29 07:27:24Z mueller $
+# $Id: vbomconv 1189 2019-07-13 16:41:07Z mueller $
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later
 # Copyright 2007-2019 by Walter F.J. Mueller <W.F.J.Mueller@gsi.de>
 #
 #  Revision History:
 # Date         Rev Version  Comment
+# 2019-07-13  1189   1.18.1  drop superfluous exists for $opts
 # 2018-11-09  1066   1.18   add and use bailout; add @tcl
 # 2016-08-28   804   1.17.3 xsim work dir now xsim.<mode>.<stem>
 # 2016-07-02   782   1.17.2 add VBOMCONV_GHDL_OPTS and VBOMCONV_GHDL_GCOV
@@ -125,7 +126,7 @@ my $has_unisim;                             # @lib:unisim seen or implied
 my $has_unimacro;                           # @lib:unimacro seen
 my $has_simprim;                            # @lib:simprim seen or implied
 my $sim_mode = 'bsim';
-my $do_trace = exists $opts{trace};
+my $do_trace = $opts{trace};
 my $level = 0;                              # vbom nesting level
 my $xst_writevhdl = 1;
 my $xlpath=$opts{xlpath};
@@ -152,7 +153,7 @@ $is_veri = $xsim_lang eq 'verilog';
 
 autoflush STDOUT 1;		# autoflush, so nothing lost on exec later
 
-if (exists $opts{help}) {
+if ($opts{help}) {
   print_help();
   exit 0;
 }
@@ -329,7 +330,7 @@ if ($do_trace) {
 
 # --ghdl_a -- ghdl analysis command ----------------------------------
 
-if (exists $opts{ghdl_a} || exists $opts{ghdl_a_cmd}) {
+if ($opts{ghdl_a} || $opts{ghdl_a_cmd}) {
   if ($no_xlpath && ($has_unisim || $has_unimacro || $has_simprim) ) {
     print STDERR "vbomconv-E: --xlpath required with ghdl_a or ghdl_a_cmd";
     exit 1;
@@ -346,7 +347,7 @@ if (exists $opts{ghdl_a} || exists $opts{ghdl_a_cmd}) {
     $cmd .= " ${ghdl_opts}";
     $cmd .= " $file";
     print "$cmd\n";
-    if (exists $opts{ghdl_a}) {
+    if ($opts{ghdl_a}) {
       my $wrc = system "/bin/sh", "-c", $cmd;
       if ($wrc != 0) {
 	my $rc = int($wrc/256);
@@ -365,7 +366,7 @@ if (exists $opts{ghdl_a} || exists $opts{ghdl_a_cmd}) {
 
 # --ghdl_i -- ghdl inspection command --------------------------------
 
-if (exists $opts{ghdl_i} || exists $opts{ghdl_i_cmd}) {
+if ($opts{ghdl_i} || $opts{ghdl_i_cmd}) {
   my $workdir = "ghdl.${sim_mode}";
   my %ghdl_work;
 
@@ -400,7 +401,7 @@ if (exists $opts{ghdl_i} || exists $opts{ghdl_i_cmd}) {
 
   if ($nfile) {
     print "$cmd\n";
-    if (exists $opts{ghdl_i}) {
+    if ($opts{ghdl_i}) {
       exec "/bin/sh", "-c", $cmd or
         bailout("failed to exec /bin/sh -c $cmd: $!");
     }
@@ -416,7 +417,7 @@ if (exists $opts{ghdl_i} || exists $opts{ghdl_i_cmd}) {
 #       If used from make with proper dependencies, this will just do
 #       the right thing.
 
-if (exists $opts{ghdl_m} || exists $opts{ghdl_m_cmd} ) {
+if ($opts{ghdl_m} || $opts{ghdl_m_cmd} ) {
   my $workdir = "ghdl.${sim_mode}";
   my $cmd = "";
 
@@ -449,7 +450,7 @@ if (exists $opts{ghdl_m} || exists $opts{ghdl_m_cmd} ) {
   }
   $cmd .= " $top";
   print "$cmd\n";
-  if (exists $opts{ghdl_m}) {
+  if ($opts{ghdl_m}) {
     exec "/bin/sh", "-c", $cmd or
       bailout("failed to exec /bin/sh -c $cmd: $!");
   }
@@ -457,7 +458,7 @@ if (exists $opts{ghdl_m} || exists $opts{ghdl_m_cmd} ) {
 
 # --xst_prj ----------------------------------------------------------
 
-if (exists $opts{xst_prj}) {
+if ($opts{xst_prj}) {
   ## $xst_writevhdl = 0; # needed in case "-use_new_parser yes" used
   foreach (@srcfile_list) {
     if ($xst_writevhdl) {
@@ -470,7 +471,7 @@ if (exists $opts{xst_prj}) {
 
 # --isim_prj ---------------------------------------------------------
 
-if (exists $opts{isim_prj}) {
+if ($opts{isim_prj}) {
   foreach (@srcfile_list) {
     print "vhdl work $_\n";
   }
@@ -478,7 +479,7 @@ if (exists $opts{isim_prj}) {
 
 # --vsyn_prj ---------------------------------------------------------
 
-if (exists $opts{vsyn_prj}) {
+if ($opts{vsyn_prj}) {
   # determine source and simulation file sets
   my @fl_syn;
   my @fl_sim;
@@ -583,7 +584,7 @@ if (exists $opts{vsyn_prj}) {
 
 # --vsim_prj ---------------------------------------------------------
 
-if (exists $opts{vsim_prj}) {
+if ($opts{vsim_prj}) {
   # Note: use a separate workdir for each sim_mode and each model (given
   # by stem). This allows to have all co-existant, and to delete the workdir
   # each time one of them is re-build.
@@ -717,7 +718,7 @@ if (exists $opts{vsim_prj}) {
 
 # --dep_ghdl ---------------------------------------------------------
 
-if (exists $opts{dep_ghdl}) {
+if ($opts{dep_ghdl}) {
 
   print "#\n";
   print "$stem : $stem.dep_ghdl\n";
@@ -776,7 +777,7 @@ if (exists $opts{dep_ghdl}) {
 
 # --dep_xst ----------------------------------------------------------
 
-if (exists $opts{dep_xst}) {
+if ($opts{dep_xst}) {
   print "#\n";
   print "$stem.ngc : $stem.dep_xst\n";
   print "#\n";
@@ -801,7 +802,7 @@ if (exists $opts{dep_xst}) {
 
 # --dep_isim ---------------------------------------------------------
 
-if (exists $opts{dep_isim}) {
+if ($opts{dep_isim}) {
   my $stem_isim = $stem . "_ISim";
 
   $stem_isim =~ s/_ssim_ISim$/_ISim_ssim/ if ($sim_mode eq 'ssim');
@@ -846,7 +847,7 @@ if (exists $opts{dep_isim}) {
 
 # --dep_vsyn ---------------------------------------------------------
 
-if (exists $opts{dep_vsyn}) {
+if ($opts{dep_vsyn}) {
   print "#\n";
   print "$stem.bit : $stem.dep_vsyn\n";
   print "#\n";
@@ -870,7 +871,7 @@ if (exists $opts{dep_vsyn}) {
 
 # --dep_vsim ---------------------------------------------------------
 
-if (exists $opts{dep_vsim}) {
+if ($opts{dep_vsim}) {
   my $stem_vsim = $stem . "_XSim";
 
   $stem_vsim =~ s/_ssim_XSim$/_XSim_ssim/ if ($sim_mode eq 'ssim');
@@ -1063,13 +1064,13 @@ if (exists $opts{vsyn_export}  or
 
 # --get_top ----------------------------------------------------------
 
-if (exists $opts{get_top}) {
+if ($opts{get_top}) {
   print "$top\n";
 }
 
 # --flist ------------------------------------------------------------
 
-if (exists $opts{flist}) {
+if ($opts{flist}) {
 
   my @flist;
 
diff --git a/tools/bin/xise_msg_filter b/tools/bin/xise_msg_filter
index 15641a77..25156df8 100755
--- a/tools/bin/xise_msg_filter
+++ b/tools/bin/xise_msg_filter
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 #!/usr/bin/perl -w
-# $Id: xise_msg_filter 1172 2019-06-29 07:27:24Z mueller $
+# $Id: xise_msg_filter 1189 2019-07-13 16:41:07Z mueller $
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later
 # Copyright 2011-2019 by Walter F.J. Mueller <W.F.J.Mueller@gsi.de>
 #
 #  Revision History:
 # Date         Rev Version  Comment
+# 2019-07-13  1189   1.1.4  drop superfluous exists for $opts
 # 2018-12-18  1089   1.1.3  add and use bailout
 # 2015-01-30   640   1.1.2  renamed from isemsg_filter
 # 2014-02-01   550   1.1.1  rename --pack to --pacc (accepted is meant here)
@@ -35,7 +36,7 @@ my $misscnt = 0;
 
 autoflush STDOUT 1;		# autoflush, so nothing lost on exec later
 
-if (exists $opts{help}) {
+if ($opts{help}) {
   print_help();
   exit 0;
 }
@@ -87,7 +88,7 @@ foreach (@flist) {
   }
 }
 
-if ($ackcnt && exists $opts{pacc}) {
+if ($ackcnt && $opts{pacc}) {
   print "Accepted messages of type [$type] from $lognam:\n";
   foreach (@flist) {
     next if $_->[1] == 0;
diff --git a/tools/bin/xviv_msg_filter b/tools/bin/xviv_msg_filter
index 92a6bc22..67ed56db 100755
--- a/tools/bin/xviv_msg_filter
+++ b/tools/bin/xviv_msg_filter
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 #!/usr/bin/perl -w
-# $Id: xviv_msg_filter 1172 2019-06-29 07:27:24Z mueller $
+# $Id: xviv_msg_filter 1189 2019-07-13 16:41:07Z mueller $
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later
 # Copyright 2016-2019 by Walter F.J. Mueller <W.F.J.Mueller@gsi.de>
 #
 #  Revision History:
 # Date         Rev Version  Comment
+# 2019-07-13  1189   1.1.4  drop superfluous exists for $opts
 # 2018-12-22  1091   1.1.3  add count-only rules; add -pcnt; add [bit] handling
 # 2018-11-18  1072   1.1.2  display INFO Common 17-14 'further message disabled'
 # 2018-08-11  1039   1.1.1  allow {yyyy.x} tags (in addition to ranges)
@@ -48,7 +49,7 @@ my $retrobase = $ENV{RETROBASE};
 
 autoflush STDOUT 1 if (-p STDOUT);          # autoflush if output into pipe
 
-if (exists $opts{help}) {
+if ($opts{help}) {
   print_help();
   exit 0;
 }
@@ -157,7 +158,7 @@ foreach my $f (@flist) {
   }
 }
 
-if ($ackcnt && exists $opts{pacc}) {
+if ($ackcnt && $opts{pacc}) {
   print "Accepted messages for type [$type] from $lognam:\n";
   foreach my $f (@flist) {
     next if $$f{cnt} == 0;