> @myMatches = ($myString =~ /(a.*?t)/); > a list with only one item ('a is a beaut')? I'd expect more Then you're expecting too much. Try //g: my $string = 'Julia is a beautiful actress'; if (my @matches = ($string =~ /(a.*?t)/g)) { print "@matches\n"; } -Hao # ===== Want to unsubscribe from this list? # ===== Send mail with body "unsubscribe" to macperl-request@macperl.org