#open files here my $counter = 0; my @slotarray; while ( ) { my $dpdrivloc = "MSL6000 Trinity"; if ( /\Q$dpdrivloc\E:\s*(\d+)/ ) { my $slotarray{$counter} = "$1"; #print OUTFILE "$1"; $counter++; } } for (@slotarray) { print OUTFILE "$slotarray\n"; } #close files here