note PrakashK <blockquote> <code> sub print_data { my %hoh = %$skip_users; next if ((exists $hoh{$user}) && (exists $hoh{$user}{$command})); } </code> </blockquote> I wonder if the <code>next if ...</code> part is a typo. This should throw up an error unless print_data is called inside a loop. <p/> Do you mean: <code> print $hoh{$user}{$command} if ((exists $hoh{$user}) && (exists $hoh{$user}{$command})); </code> <p/> /prakash 154744 154744