Currently I'm trying to read through some basic cells, in this format: +-------+-------+ | | | +-------+-------+ Now I need to get the string representation of the cell's contents and send it off to another method. The problem is that the cells have no pre-defined length. I'm reading these from a file, so my easiest option should be to just use the Scanner I already have set up. Problem is, I don't really know how for this case. I have a strong feeling that I need to use the pattern somehow, but I'm at a complete loss on how to do it. I could also probably just build it up somehow, but that strikes me as being painfully slow.