>>cFile = strtran(cFile,"[0]","[00]") && if you need to handle [0] >>cFile = strtran(cFile,"[1]","[01]") >>cFile = strtran(cFile,"[2]","[02]") >>cFile = strtran(cFile,"[3]","[03]") >>cFile = strtran(cFile,"[4]","[04]") >>cFile = strtran(cFile,"[5]","[05]") >>cFile = strtran(cFile,"[6]","[06]") >>cFile = strtran(cFile,"[7]","[07]") >>cFile = strtran(cFile,"[8]","[08]") >>cFile = strtran(cFile,"[9]","[09]") >> >>* or, if you wanted to do it in "one line of code", you could nest the above calls < eg > >>>>Some people might pooh-pooh brute-force solutions, but they have their place.