On Fri, Nov 26, 2010 at 7:17 PM, A Joshi <ajoshi977@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: set -x > you might try adding set -v here for troubleshooting purposes > grep -i created $flist > grep -i created $flist > $mlist > If you run the script, then run the grep from the command line against this file ($mlist), the grep finds all the values you expect? To paraphrase Inigo Montoya "I don't think you're using the grep you think you're using" Try hardcoding the full path for grep, which is usually a good idea in shell scripts anyway. Jared Still Certifiable Oracle DBA and Part Time Perl Evangelist Oracle Blog: http://jkstill.blogspot.com Home Page: http://jaredstill.com