I do not see much difference in performance between my substringing operation and Mr. Perryman's; and I prefer that counters count what they are counting in unbiased, if you will simplistic, fashion.
Tricks lead others astray unless they are accompanied by tediously detailed comments, and sometimes even then. Mais, a chacun son goûte. In any case all such operations should be packageded up in a macro. My own is imaginatively called PADDER. It pads on the left or right parametrically with repetitions of a nominated or default single character or repetitions, perhaps truncated, of a nominated character string of non-identical characters. John Gilmore, Ashland, MA 01721 - USA
