ok..
so problem is:

I have a file that reads:
cat 123

1 and 2
3 and 4
5 and 6

for i in `cat 123`
do
echo $i
done

1 and 2
3 and 4
5 and 6 ...(1)

1
and
2
3
and
4

#!/bin/ksh

while read i
do
   echo "${i}"
done < 123

no. this is because its using the default characters for $IFS(internal field separator) which is white space. set IFS='\n' prior to your loop and you should get what you expect. I would wrap your variable in double quotes though.

thanks frank...worked just fine..!

vgersh99 --- will remember the tags next time..