> One thing that you need to do is figure out if the numeric part is > always to include 2 (or more, or less) decimals. For example is > "G22" likely to be input or is it always "G22.00". If decimal places > are always present, the decimal point can be ignored and the > scaling becomes much easier I would like to cater for any format of i/p the user chooses, so the only significant character is the "." (or lack thereof, implying an integer). ie 0022, 022, 22, 22.0, 22.00 must all be interpreted by the PIC as plain 22. I realise that the more latitude I give the user, the more comprehensive the interpreter needs to be, but I'm prepared to go the extra mile for the sake of user-friendliness -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist