awk. cat file | awk '{print "z=z+"$1}' Proof: bob@donelle:~> printf " 1234960\n1456780\n3456567\n5476865\n456098\n" | awk '{print "z=z+"$1}' z=z+1234960 z=z+1456780 z=z+3456567 z=z+5476865 z=z+456098 bob@donelle:~> BTW - you are prepending, not appending. George Support wrote: > > HI > > Any sed gurus on the list? I use it often in a class I am taking but I > am stuck on this one and have had no luck with the docs I have found. > What I need to do is append 'z=z+' to the beginning of every line in a > file. > > The file looks like this: > > 1234960 > 1456780 > 3456567 > 5476865 > 456098 > > thats it 1 simple column! Maybe I need some sleep it is 1 am here in > Germany. > > Thanks for any help! > (I know you are out there der hans) :) > > ________________________________________________ > See http://PLUG.phoenix.az.us/navigator-mail.shtml if your mail doesn't post to the list quickly and you use Netscape to write mail. > > PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us > http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss