I have some requirement for input parameters: Some of my input parameters represent a pair of files. Is there any way to parse this kind of a form: -I "file1" "file1_related_file" Trying to use the construct with: po::value< std::pairstd::string,std::string >() produces a compilation error within a lexical cast, that there is no operator >> defined. I know I could pass smth like: -I "fiel1+related_file", but then I would need to split the string, what I would like to do, since I see this as a task of program_options lib. With Kind Regards, Ovanes Markarian