use strict;
my $str = '++++|+++This|Is|An|Example++|++++
+
+|+
+|+|+
';
my $regex = qr/(^[^|\n]*\|)?[^|\n](?=[^|\n]*\|)/mp;
my $subst = '$1a';
my $result = $str =~ s/$regex/$subst/rg;
print "The result of the substitution is' $result\n";
Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for Perl, please visit: http://perldoc.perl.org/perlre.html