>oRegEx = NEWOBJECT("VBScript.RegExp") >oRegEx.Pattern = "\[(\d)\]" >cFile = oRegEx.Replace(cFile, "[0$1]") >thanks rob - no effect i'm afraid but i'm wondering if this is addressing the change i am looking for (I am trying to understand your replace code "[0$1]" and have modified it a couple of times without success.