use SuperSplit; $array = supersplit('\s+','\n','\n----\n',\*DATA'); #### my $str = ''; while( ) $str .= $_ unless m|^[/-]|; } $array = supersplit('\s+','\n','\n----\n',$str); #### for (@$array){ print $_->[1][3]."\n"; #remember indici start at zero }