c:\@Work\Perl\monks\marek1703>perl -wMstrict -le "my $s = '-#-$-%-&-~-_-}-{-^-0-$%&~_}{^0'; print qq{'$s'}; ;; $s =~ s{ (?= [#\$%&~_{}^]) }{\\}xmsg; print qq{'$s'}; " '-#-$-%-&-~-_-}-{-^-0-$%&~_}{^0' '-\#-\$-\%-\&-\~-\_-\}-\{-\^-0-\$\%\&\~\_\}\{\^0'