use strict; while () { chomp(); my ($first, @rest) = split ""; print "$first$_\n" for @rest; } __DATA__ John Smith 25 May 2003 Manager Clean-up John Smith 25 May 2003 Manager Clean-up Manager Books John Smith 25 May 2003 Manager Clean-up Manager Books Manager Acounts #### John Smith 25 May 2003 Manager Clean-up John Smith 25 May 2003 Manager Clean-up John Smith 25 May 2003 Manager Books John Smith 25 May 2003 Manager Clean-up John Smith 25 May 2003 Manager Books John Smith 25 May 2003 Manager Acounts