Thanks for the response. I was guessing at the sql version, its 4.x, i just didnt look up the exact number yet as I knew the functions were included in all 4.x releases. Also, I am working with a database that already exists, otherwise, I would have created the tables differently. Otherwise, can CONCAT() take multiple (>2) parameters? Finally, how can I make sure that it does not match a "5" to a "15"? There are optional spaces surrounding a number, but I also want to specify: "no number before or after 'table2.t2_id' ".