my $tab = 0; ## Number of 'tabs' to insert starts at zero $input =~ s[ ( ## Capture to $1 [()] ## All open or close parens ) ]{ ## /e-xecute turns the second half into a code block. ## Decrement teh tab count if this is a close paren $tab-- if $1 eq ')'; ## Insert a newline + $tab tabs before the paren (open or close) my $modified = "\n" . ( " " x $tab ) . $1; ## Increment the tab count if this is an open paren $tab++ if $1 eq '('; ## And 'return' the modified text for substitution $modified; }xge; ## Late addition: ## Second pass strips out any 'lone' close parens ## to compact the results a little. $input =~ s[\n\s+\)][)]g;