retrieve multiple select

I'm sure this has been hashed over and over on the web, only I can't find anything that makes sense or the explanations given have been erroneous. This is what I am trying: <select name="($categoriesIN).'[]'" multiple> <OPTION>Choose Categories...</option> <OPTION VALUE="1">History <OPTION VALUE="2">Temples <OPTION VALUE="3">Pharaohs and Queens <OPTION VALUE="4">Cleopatra <OPTION VALUE="5">Mummies </SELECT> for ($i = 0; $i < count($_POST['categoriesIN']); $i++) echo $categoriesIN[$i]; OR SHOULD IT BE: <select name="$categoriesIN[]" multiple size="5"> BUT NEITHER WORKS. I have tried print_r, while, and other off the wall stuff I found on the Weird Warped Web! It's unreal how much crap there is out there... :-( I understood that the input from a select dropdown box was an array... OK, so how do I retrieve the array and verify what was entered? I suppose if I could verify, then I should be able to retrieve and INSERT etc. As I delve deeper into this the more I know the "horseman knew her" ... :-) Please elucidate, enlighten me from my erring ways ... -- Phil Jourdan --- pj@ptahhotep.com http://www.ptahhotep.com http://www.chiccantine.com