C:\test>type junk.dat A B C D E A 1 1 1 1 1 B 1 1 1 1 1 C 1 1 1 1 1 D 1 1 1 1 1 E 1 1 1 1 1 C:\test>perl -plae" $.== 1 and $F[0] eq 'A' and $_ = 'ID' . $_" junk.dat ID A B C D E A 1 1 1 1 1 B 1 1 1 1 1 C 1 1 1 1 1 D 1 1 1 1 1 E 1 1 1 1 1