Rats! I didn't test w/strings on either side of the comma having unequal length. In addition to all the other answers here, this: select SUBSTR(:stringy, INSTR(:stringy, ':', 1, 1)+1, INSTR(:stringy, ',', 1,1)-INSTR(:stringy, ':', 1, 1)-1) from dual; ...should work. Rich > Hey Barb, > > Almost -- just needed to shorten up the length of the SUBSTR. Try testing > with this: > > select > SUBSTR(:stringy, INSTR(:stringy, ':', 1, 1)+1, > LENGTH(:stringy)-INSTR(:stringy, ',', 1,1)) > from dual; > > Note the comma location being subtracted from the LENGTH of the string. > > TEST FIRST PLEASE! -- //www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l