\_ SMTP quoth Mike Starke on 3/26/2003 16:33 as having spake thusly: \_ \_ David is right, I probably should have included more accurate \_ data than my original message. \_ \_ Here is a line: \_ --------------------------------------------------- \_ TYPE: AL ADHC, SUBTYPE: ADULT DAY HEALTH CARE, ID: AL2905, LICENSE: ADHC-2838, NAME: MARY'S PLACE ADULT DAY CENTER, LEGALLY: MARY'S PLACE ADULT DAY CENTER, ADDRESS: 14601 DEL WEBB BLVD, CITY: SUN CITY, STATE: AZ, ZIP: 85351, TELEPHONE: (623)584-4999, FAX: , CAPACITY: , COUNTY: MARICOPA \_ --------------------------------------------------- $line = qq{TYPE: ... from above ... }; my @parts = split /, (\w+): /, $line; splice @parts, 0, 1, split /:/, $parts[0], 2; my %info = @parts; foreach (sort keys %info) { print "$_ => $info{$_}\n"; } YMMV. Yes, the splice is masking a weakness in the RE. :-) David