passing parameter to template

Hi folks,

I'm facing a problem while trying to pass a parameter to a template. The corresponding xsl-code is the following:

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
  
<xsl:apply-templates select="exsl:node-set($tools)">
 <xsl:with-param name="sort">
  <xsl:value-of select="$sort_dir"/>
 </xsl:with-param>
</xsl:apply-templates>
..
..
 <xsl:template match="tool">
  <xsl:param name="sort"/>
...
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

My param "sort" is empty!! How can I pass the value to my template?????
(when I use <xsl:apply-templates select="tool"> then it works but I have to use the variable "tools"!!)

Many thanks for any help,

Stefan

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