foreach (sort @list)
{
     my ($one, $nochop) = split(/\|/, $_);
     chomp($one);    # Remove any trailing linefeeds

     print "<option value='$one'>$one</option>";
}

##</code><code>##

unless (open(FILE, "$catdir/categories.dat"))
{
     error_message("Can't find data file - $catdir/categories.dat");
}