I have string, something like: $String = "aaa bbb: fffd: sdfsdf qweqd: adfsdf qwcdsfs: qwdq qchuti: qwiojd";
Now, I want to extract everything from the start of the string, up through the FIRST colon ":" -- in this case "aaa bbb". My regex looks like this: $String =~ /^(.*):/ ; So: ^ starts at the beginning, (.*) to grab everything in the middle, and : to match the colon. What I am getting is, everything from the start of the string up until the last colon. In this example: $1 = "aaa bbb: fffd: sdfsdf qweqd: adfsdf qwcdsfs: qwdq qchuti" What I want is: $1 = "aaa bbb" I even tried using: $String =~ /^(.*):{1}/ ; Thinking the {1} would match the first occurance of :, but that didn't change the results (I was runningn out of ideas). Now, I could split $String on :, but I have to think that there is a better way and I'm missing some modifier that I can't find in the FAQ or any of the three books that have been dumped on my desk. Any help is appreciated. Russell J Foster Subject, Wills, & Company e. [EMAIL PROTECTED] v. 630-572-0240 -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]