Note: if my [OT] posts about sed/awk/bash/perl/grep upset anyone, please send me a message. ---------------------------------------------- Ok, unfortunately nslookup spits out the desired info in 6 lines like such: Server: ns1.theplanet.com Address: 216.234.234.30 Non-authoritative answer: Name: apple.com Address: 17.254.3.183 [jw@garnet jw]$ In order to clean that up I need to remove the end-of-line/newline pair that /precedes/ each Address: line. I also need to remove the blank line, but I don't know how to match either blank lines or line endings/newlines. How do I match those? P.S. Anyone have a link for a reg-exps for newbies howto? Sooner or later I'll read one of the big books, but at the moment I'm thinking of something more along the lines of a cheat sheet for quick lookups. ---------------------------------------------------- Jonathan Wilson System Administrator Cedar Creek Software http://www.cedarcreeksoftware.com Central Texas IT http://www.centraltexasit.com