#!/usr/bin/perl -w use strict; my $wholefile = ''; while() { $wholefile .= $_; } while($wholefile=~m/\([^\>]+)\<\/default\>/gs) { print qq~$1\n~; } 1; __END__ this is line 1 this is line 2 sometext this is line 3 some more text some more in next line this is last line #### sometext some more text some more in next line