(tar)Archive Label

Using Multiple Tapes

Media

Including a Label in the Archive
================================

     *(This message will disappear, once this node revised.)*

FIXME: Should the arg to --label be a quoted string??  no - ringo
   To avoid problems caused by misplaced paper labels on the archive
media, you can include a "label" entry--an archive member which
contains the name of the archive--in the archive itself.  Use the
`--label=ARCHIVE-LABEL' (`-V ARCHIVE-LABEL') option in conjunction with
the `--create' (`-c') operation to include a label entry in the archive
as it is being created.

   If you create an archive using both `--label=ARCHIVE-LABEL' (`-V
ARCHIVE-LABEL') and `--multi-volume' (`-M'), each volume of the archive
will have an archive label of the form `ARCHIVE-LABEL Volume N', where
N is 1 for the first volume, 2 for the next, and so on.

FIXME: xref Multi-Volume Archives
   , for information on creating multiple volume archives.

   If you extract an archive using `--label=ARCHIVE-LABEL' (`-V
ARCHIVE-LABEL'), `tar' will print an error if the archive label doesn't
match the ARCHIVE-LABEL specified, and will then not extract the
archive.  You can include a regular expression in ARCHIVE-LABEL, in
this case only.
FIXME: why is a reg. exp. useful here?  (to limit extraction to a
FIXME: specific group?  ie for multi-volume???

   To find out an archive's label entry (or to find out if an archive
has a label at all), use `tar --list --verbose'.  `tar' will print the
label first, and then print archive member information, as in the
example below:

     % tar --verbose --list --file=iamanarchive
     V--------- 0/0        0 Mar  7 12:01 1992 iamalabel--Volume Header--
     -rw-rw-rw- ringo/user 40 May 21 13:30 1990 iamafilename

`--label=ARCHIVE-LABEL'
`-V ARCHIVE-LABEL'
     Includes an "archive-label" at the beginning of the archive when
     the archive is being created, when used in conjunction with the
     `--create' (`-c') option.  Checks to make sure the archive label
     matches the one specified (when used in conjunction with the
     `--extract' (`-x') option.
FIXME: was --volume