$re = '/(.*()\n*)(\s{2})([a-zA_Z0-9]*)(\s{3})(.*)\n(#)([a-zA_Z0-9]*)(#)(\s{1})(.*\s*)()/m';
$str = ' 1 OPTION 1
2 OPTION 2
3 OPTION 3
4 OPTION 4
5 OPTION 5
6 OPTION 6
7 OPTION 7
8 OPTION 8
9 OPTION 9
10 OPTION 10
100 OPTION 100
#1000# OPTION 1000';
$subst = "$1$2$7$4$7$10$6\n$3$8$5$11";
$result = preg_replace($re, $subst, $str);
echo "The result of the substitution is ".$result;
Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for PHP, please visit: http://php.net/manual/en/ref.pcre.php