my $line = '%TMP%\$$(DATE)_RE_IRD_Soc'; my $line2 = '%RESULTS%\$$(DATE_USA)' ; my $line3 = '%RESULTS%\$$(1110_DATE_USA)'; @lines=($line,$line2,$line3); foreach $elem (@lines) { if($elem=~m/.*\$\$(\(.*\))(.*)?/) { print "\nFirst: $1, Second: $2"; } }