Hello, Suppose I have $var(a) = 1234#5678 and $var(b)=123455667 I need to get the number before '#' character if exists , meaning that from $var(a) I must get 1234# and from $var(b) I must get empty string. I tried $var(pref)= $(var(a){s.select,0,#}); but I'm getting the whole string if # doesn't exists. There is a way to check if # exists by subtracting the length of the string before and after removing # character and check if length changes , but I want a cost-less method. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Ali