thanks to all for the info... regexp_like, regexp_replace will do what i need. thanks -doug- Doug Gernaat wrote: > if your task was to remove/mask sensitive data such > as ssn/ccard numbers and those numbers are in multiple > tables throughout your database, where would you start? > > if you are an oracle tool, what's your name? > is an attempt to create a manual script reasonable? > -- //www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l