argh!! you're right. for the section i showed you i don't need a 2 dimensional array. i didn't include all the code. what i'm trying to do (for a job interview) is take the entire table and search it... "Return the number of times you find each search word in the data. Words go forwards, backwards, horizontal, vertical and diagonal." i'll try your suggestion. i know i'm in over my head. i'm about to give up. -thanks