verify another flavor

I know I'm a pain the butt but I just can't help asking for help. You guys are so nice... ;-) I am trying to do some checks if there are entries in the db so I can then insert the right stuff. And I'm looking for ways to simplify things. I probably dont understand the flow of things here, but this almost works. :-\ $Author = $first_nameIN . ' ' . $last_nameIN; echo $Author; $sql1 = "SELECT CONCAT_WS(" ", first_name, last_name) as Author FROM author WHERE Author LIKE '$Author'"; $result1 = mysql_query($sql1); this would be instead of $sql1 = "SELECT first_name, last_name) FROM author WHERE (first_name LIKE 'first_nameIN' && last_nameIN LIKE 'last_nameIN')" -- unheralded genius: "A clean desk is the sign of a dull mind. " ------------------------------------------------------------- Phil Jourdan --- pj@ptahhotep.com http://www.ptahhotep.com http://www.chiccantine.com/andypantry.php