Input text * Representatives from <Sun> & <Novell> versions) & <Symphony>, <KOffice>, <Google> Docs & Spreadsheets and Microsoft Office. code (defun msg(message) (format t "~%~A~%" message) ) (defun cleanup (line) "Replace < and & with entities" (msg (cl-ppcre:regex-replace-all "&" line "&")) (msg (cl-ppcre:regex-replace-all "<" line "<")) ) The first message replaces & The second shows that & has been changed back to & * Representatives from <Sun> & <Novell> versions) & <Symphony>, <KOffice>, <Google> Docs & Spreadsheets and Microsoft Office. * Representatives from <Sun> & <Novell> versions) & <Symphony>, <KOffice>, <Google> Docs & Spreadsheets and Microsoft Office. regards -- Dave Pawson XSLT XSL-FO FAQ. http://www.dpawson.co.uk