open (IN, $file) or die "$!\n"; my @ary = ; close IN; open (OUT, ">$file") or die "$!\n"; print OUT "stuff\n"; print OUT @ary; close OUT; #### rename $file, $tempfile; open (OUT, ">$file") or die "$!\n"; print OUT "stuff\n"; open (IN, $tempfile) or die "$!\n"; while () { print OUT $_; } close IN; close OUT;