#!/usr/bin/perl -w use strict; for my $foo () { my @fields = grep { s/^\s+|\s+$//g; 1; } split /\|/, $foo; print "$fields[1]\n"; } __END__ Baw|Vao|111 Noa St||NewYork|NY|10012|2123456789|123456789 Vca|Wxr|384 Mkl Ln|Xillo|Crrnt Stt|CT|05506|1015567781|1015567782 Uaa|Kvbr|805 Test Rd|Zero|This St|MN|17205|3018757203|3012986736 Caa|Lvbr|905 Test Rd|Bero|That St|MD|12705|3028887203|3028886736 Eaa|Pvbr|311 Zest Rd|Tero|My St|MI|12505|3018757203|3012986736