printf '%s\n' 'This is a the content of "somefile".' 'Thanks for reading.' '' > somefile cat /dev/fd/4 somefile /dev/fd/5 4<<EOPREAM 5<<EOAPPEND This is the preamble It talks about what's going to be in the content. Sincerely, kurahaupo --- EOPREAM -- APPENDIX -- [0] Preamble [1] Content EOAPPEND