I have found people don't like to use the .*, I try to use it as infrequently as possible. Maybe one of these would help you out

.{0,} - Match 0 or more times.
.??   - Match 0 or 1 times (as few as possible).

[download]

--
paul

In reply to Re: Backtracking problem with .*(?!bar) by vbrtrmn
in thread Backtracking problem with .*(?!bar) by olivierp

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