i'll be straight with you and say that this is a homework assignment. ive tried to figure it out on my own but am now out of time. i need to go through a .txt file and get rid of all punctuation. also, every time i see the work "Fruitloops=1" or "Hamburgers=x" where x is ANY number i need to get rid of that also. thanks a bunch. hurry please! jen :)