$ cat formula.csv a,b,c 1,=2+3,4 6,,7,=8+9, $ perl -MCSV -e'$_ = dcsv (in => "formula.csv", bom => 1, formula => "diag")' Field 2 (column: 'b') in record 1 contains formula '=2+3' Field 4 in record 2 contains formula '=8+9'