diff --git a/bin/1.1_footprint_extraction/footprints_extraction.py b/bin/1.1_footprint_extraction/footprints_extraction.py
index 1ce0c9f..fae040e 100644
--- a/bin/1.1_footprint_extraction/footprints_extraction.py
+++ b/bin/1.1_footprint_extraction/footprints_extraction.py
@@ -317,8 +317,9 @@ def write_to_bed_file(all_footprints, sorted_output_file_name):
 	
 	#extract the name of directory where we want to save the file
 	output_directory = os.path.dirname(sorted_output_file_name)
-	#check if this directory exists, and if not, create one
-	check_directory(output_directory)
+	#check if there is a directory provided
+	if output_directory:
+		check_directory(output_directory)
 	
 	#make sure the file is in .bed format
 	output_name = "not_sorted_" + os.path.splitext(os.path.basename(sorted_output_file_name))[0] + ".bed"