Example input Data: spokanebase,Wed 24Sep03 17:59:19,50bn4575,88383 bytes spokanebase,Wed 24Sep03 17:59:17,49bn4196,88383 bytes spokanebase,Wed 24Sep03 17:59:10,48bn4550,88383 bytes memphisbase,Wed 24Sep03 17:59:08,27bn700,88383 bytes memphisbase,Wed 24Sep03 17:59:03,26bn5444,88383 bytes havrebase,Wed 24Sep03 17:58:46,20bn5285,88383 bytes havrebase,Wed 24Sep03 17:58:41,19bn4594,88383 bytes alliancebase,Wed 24Sep03 17:58:56,45bn5640,88383 bytes havrebase,Wed 24Sep03 17:58:46,20bn5285,88383 bytes havrebase,Wed 15Sep04 17:58:41,19bn1100,88383 bytes Range would be tied to the ???? number after the bn on each line. So if I set my range to (700 .. 1200) I am trying to parse through the file from the top (I have it sorted from newest to oldest in the file) once I find the first 700 extract the "Date time portion of the line" and write to a output file: Theory - Output File From Example Data Above: 700 - 24Sep03 1100 - 15Sep04 Then start over at the top of the file and find the first 701.. So on So Forth, until you reach the end of the range.