Something like this would probably do it (I haven't actually tested it) 
require File::HomeDir;
$filename =~ s/^~(\w+)/File::HomeDir->users_home("$1")/e;
$filename =~ s/^~/File::HomeDir->my_home/e;

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In reply to Re: Improve perlfaq5: How can I translate tildes (~) in a filename? by adamk
in thread Improve perlfaq5: How can I translate tildes (~) in a filename? by brian_d_foy

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