note Anonymous Monk A data structure as-described <i>must</i> consist of a hash whose values are arrayrefs (or hashrefs). Therefore, first check to see if the key <tt>exists()</tt>, then use e.g. <tt>grep()</tt> to look for the desired value. <br/><br/>Be consistent: Arrange the program so that the hash <i>always</i> contains an arrayref, even if it contains only one entry. Perl's "auto-vivification" features make the necessary code for building the structure short-and-sweet. 1003939 1003939 3