hey there, looks like you're on the right track... check out regexps - they're easy to get started with, and i think they'll help you a bunch... http://www.ruby-doc.org/core-1.9.3/Regexp.html http://www.tutorialspoint.com/ruby/ruby_regular_expressions.htm http://rubular.com/ hth- - j -- Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/.