while ($line = ) # every line foreach (@array) # every field in that line for ($i=0; $i<=$#dbarray1; $i++) # items in @dbarray1 # if ($array[10] =~ m/Scan/) if (/Scan/) #### while ($line = ) { chomp($line); @array = split /\s*\|/, $line; if ( $array[10] =~ /Scan/ ) { # happiness ensues }