my $path = "[DIR."; my $tmp = ""; for(my $x=0; $x<60; $x++) { $tmp .= "a"; my $tmp2 = $path . $tmp . "]"; print File::Spec->catfile($tmp2, "file") . "\n"; } ----------------------------- $ perl test.pl USERS:[DIR.a]file USERS:[DIR.aa]file USERS:[DIR.aaa]file USERS:[DIR.aaaa]file USERS:[DIR]aaaaa USERS:[DIR.aaaaaa]file USERS:[DIR.aaaaaaa]file USERS:[DIR.aaaaaaaa]file USERS:[DIR.aaaaaaaaa]file USERS:[DIR.aaaaaaaaaa]file USERS:[DIR.aaaaaaaaaaa]file USERS:[DIR.aaaaaaaaaaaa]file USERS:[DIR]aaaaaaaaaaaaa USERS:[DIR.aaaaaaaaaaaaaa]file USERS:[DIR.aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa]file USERS:[DIR.aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa]file