.nr N -1
.nr D 5
.TH TAPER 8 "7 February 1996"
.UC 4
.SH NAME
taper \- Full-screen system backup utility
.SH SYNOPSIS
\fBtaper\fP [\fIoption\fP]...
.SH WARNING
This man page is not being maintained and may be out of date. The html
documentation that comes with taper is up to date.
.SH DESCRIPTION
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\fBtaper\fP is a tape backup and restore program that provides a friendly
user interface to allow backing/restoring files to a tape drive. 
Alternatively, files can be backed up to hard disk files. Selecting files
for backup and restore is very similar to the Mouseless Commander
interface and allows easy traversal of directories. Recursively selected
directories are supported. Incremental backup and automatic most recent
restore are defaults settings. SCSI, ftape, and zftape drives are
supported (ide tape drives and removable media in ALPHA stage). 
Information about archives is stored on the hard disk allowing information
about archives to be obtained without having to have the tape in the
drive.
.SH OPTIONS
.TP
.B
--tape-type|-T [ \fBs\fPcsi | \fBf\fPtape | \fBz\fPftape | \fBi\fPde | fi\fBl\fPe | \fBr\fPemovable ]
selects the tape drive you will be using.
.RS
.IP \fBscsi\fP
scsi drive
.IP \fBftape\fP
ftape based tape drive
.IP \fBzftape\fP
zftape based tape drive
.IP \fBide\fP
ide based tape drive
.IP \fBfile\fP
a regular file on the hard disk
.IP \fBremovable\fP
a device that needs mounting, eg. a floppy disk
.RE
This option \fBmust\fP be specified, unless you are using a regular
file. NB: Only the highlighted letter of the option is required.
.TP
.B
--help|-?
prints help on command line options
.TP
.B
--append-on|+a
Append files to archive if it exists. \fBDefault.\fP
.TP
.B
--append-off|-a
Overwrite existing archive if found.

\fBNote:\fP The append options are only for unattended backups. If you 
use the main \fItaper\fP program, you will be prompted for whether you 
wish to append or overwrite an existing archive.
.TP
.B
--archive-diff|-A \fIarchive_id\fP
Prints the differences between the archive and the filesystem. If 
\fIarchive_id\fP equals 0, the tape that is in the tape drive is used, 
otherwise, the archive specified is used.
.TP
.B
--both|-b \fIfile\fP
Equivalent to \fB-n\fP \fIfile\fP \fB-f\fP \fIfile\fP. Useful when using 
archive files rather than a tape drive.
.TP
.B
--set-ownership-on|+B
After restoring a file, restore the ownership attributes of the file
.TP
.B
--set-ownership-off|-B
Don't attempt to set the ownership attributes of a file after restore
.TP
.B
--compress-type|-c \fInum\fP
.RS
.IP \fB0\fP
No compression
.IP \fB1\fP
Use an external compression program. The program to use is hard compiled 
and can be changed by editing \fIdefaults.h\fP. The \fBdefault\fP is set 
to use \fIgzip\fP.
.IP \fB2\fP
Use the internal compression program which is similar to \fIcompress\fP. 
It doesn't provide as good a compression as \fIgzip\fP, but is it much 
quicker. Note that this compression uses aboutn 2MB of RAM extra so on
heavily laoded machines, it can degrade performance. \fBDefault\fP.
.IP \fB3\fP
Use the internal compression program which is similar to
\fIgzip\fP. It provides the same level of compression as \fIgzip\fP
and is much quicker than the external version. It is not as quick as
option \fI2\fP, but is much faster than \fI1\fP. In addition, it doesn't use
anywhere near the memory or system load that \fI2\fP requires.
.RE
.TP
.B
--bad-checksum-on|+C
When doing a mkinfo or complete restore, if a file with a bad checksum
is encountered, you will have the option of trying to continue, or
assuming the rest of the backup is bad and fudging the info file to
reflect this. \fBDefault\fP.
.TP
.B
--bad-checksum-off|-C
When doing a mkinfo or complete restore, if a file with a bad checksum
is encountered, will try to continue without prompting.
.TP
.B
--rewinding-device|-f \fIfile\fP
Use \fIfile\fP as the rewinding archive file. If not specified, the file 
specified in the environment variable \fBTAPE\fP will be used.
.TP
.B
--non-rewinding-device|-n \fIfile\fP
Use \fIfile\fP as the non-rewinding archive file. If not specified, the file
specified in the environment variable \fBNTAPE\fP will be used.
.TP
.B
--exclude-files|-F \fIfile\fP
A list of files not to include in the backup. Consists of a series of 
suffixes to exclude separated by spaces. It is not case sensitive (ie. .o 
is the same as .O). For example, the \fBdefault\fP setting of ".o ~ core" 
excludes all files that end in .o, all files that end in ~, and all
files named (or ending in) "core".
.TP
.B
--exclude-compress|-X \fIfile\fP
Specifies which group of files to exclude from compressing. Comprises a 
string of suffixes separated by a space - eg. ".gz .gif" would exclude 
files ending in .gz and .gif. It is not case senditive (ie. JPG = jPg 
etc..) \fBDefault\fP is ".gz .gif .Z .zip .jpg .jpeg .rpm .deb .tgz .taz .png .bz2 .tbz .mpg .mp3".

If \fIgzip\fP is used for compression, the assumption is made that 
\fIgzip\fP is on your path. If you use another compress program, change 
the entry in \fIdefaults.h\fP and recompile.
.TP
.B
--print-dir|-d \fIarchive_id\fP
Prints the directory of the archive whose id is \fIarchive_id\fP and
exits. If \fIarchive_id\fP equals 0, the directory of the archive of
the tape currently in the drive is printed.
.TP
.B
--auto-descend-on|+D
If this option is on, in restore, if there are any empty directories,
they will automatically be skipped. For example, your files may be in
/usr/local/src/xzy with nothing in /usr, /usr/local, or
/usr/local/src. When you select /usr from the top restore directory,
you will automatically be placed in to /usr/local/src/xzy where the
files are, and the empty directories will be skipped. \fBDefault\fP
.TP
.B
--auto-descend-off|-D
Turn the above off.
.TP
.B
--prompt-archive-on|+e
When selecting restore, prints a list of all known archives and the
user can select which of these to restore from. \fBDefault.\fP
.TP
.B
--prompt-archive-off|-e
When selecting restore, automatically selects the archive in the tape
drive (or regular file). The user is not given the option to choose the
archive to restore from.
.TP
.B
--can-seek-on|+E
Tells \fItaper\fP that your tape drive supports a seek ioctl for positioning
to a particular block. Default depends on tape drive type.
.TP
.B
--can-seek-off|-E
You tape drive doesn't support an ioctl for positioning to a particular
block. \fITaper\fP will use reads to position. Default depends on tape drive
type.
.TP
.B
--volume-title|-g \fItitle\fP
Title of volume. \fBDefault\fP is NULL. Only applicable in backup.
.TP
.B
--get-blocksize-on|+G
If this option is defined, after \fItaper\fP opens a tape, it tries to
get the block size using an ioctl call. This is only for the new
\fIzftape\fP driver. \fBDefault\fP is on for \fIzftape\fP and off for
others.
.TP
.B
--get-blocksize-off|-G
Do not try and get the block size.
.TP
.B
--soft-links-off|-h
With soft links, store link details only and not linked file. \fBDefault\fP.
.TP
.B
--soft-links-on|+h
With soft links, store the file, not the link.
.TP
.B
--comp-head-start|+H \fIminutes\fP
It is useful for \fItaper\fP to always have a full buffer of data
available to send to the tape drive so the tape drive never has to sit
and wait. This can be a problem if compression is taking a long
time. By giving the compression program a head start, you can try and
ensure that \fItaper\fP always has data available to write. A good
starting number for large backups is 10 minutes. \fBDefault\fP is 0.
.TP
.B
--info-files path|-i \fIpath\fP
directory where archive information files are saved. Also
where file sets are saved. \fBDefault\fP /var/lib/taper.
.TP
.B
--compress-info-on|+I
turns on compression of info files. Automatically will compress
after creation and will decompress when required. \fBDefault\fP.
.TP
.B
--compress-info-off|-I
Don't compress info files.
.TP
.B
--proc-device|-j \fInum\fP
This specifies the device number of the /proc system.
This is avoid backing up of the /proc filesystem which
is a runtime filesystem used to store the current state
of the operating system. If this value is set to 0,
then no checking is performed. The \fBdefault\fP value is
1 (which is the device number of the /proc filesystem
under Linux).
.TP
.B
--min-before-seek|-J \fInum\fP
When restoring, if the tape needs to be advanced by less than
\fImin-before-seek\fP blocks, then a seek will not be issued, rather
the tape will continue streaming. This is because if you have a lot
of files close together, it's more efficient to just let the drive
continue streaming. \fBDefault\fP 10.
.TP
.B
--erase-tape-on|+k
When using a new tape, overwriting a tape with unrecognized data, or
when overwriting existing \fItaper\fP files, if this option is set,
\fItaper\fP will try and erase the tape using a standard ioctl
call. Floppy tape drives (those based on \fIftape\fP and \fIzftape\fP
require this option to be set.
.TP
.B
--erase-tape-off|-k
Will not try to erase a tape before writing new data to it.
Most SCSI drives do not require erasing, so you can use this option
for them.
.TP
.B
--illegal-end-of-tape-off|-K
Tells \fItaper\fP that your tape drive correctly handles the end of
tape condition. Use the utility \fBtest end of tape\fP to see 
if your tape drive handles this properly. \fBDefault\fP.
.TP
.B
--illegal-end-of-tape-on|+K
Tells \fItaper\fP that your tape drive doesn't handle the end of
tape condition as per BSD semantics. Use the utility \fBtest end of
tape\fP to see if your tape drive handles this properly.
When \fItaper\fP encounters an error in the tape, it asks you
whether this signifies an end of tape or a real error.
.TP
.B
--log-file|-l \fIfile\fP
name of log file. \fBDefault\fP /var/log/taper.log.
.TP
.B
--log-level|-m \fInumber\fP
logging level (0 = no logging..4 = all). \fBDefault\fP = 2.
.TP
.B
--size-dirs-on|+M
When you select a directory in backup, it will calculate the directory
size. This may take a while for big directories. \fBDefault\fP.
.TP
.B
--size-dirs-off|-M
No sizing of directories on selection. Quicker, but no indication of
size of backup being contemplated.
.TP
.B
--limit-log-file|-L \fInumber\fP
specifies how many megabytes the log file should be at a maximum.
If, after a \fItaper\fP operation, the log file is found to exceed
this size, enough bytes are removed from the BEGINNING of the file
to ensure the log file becomes \fInumber\fP megabytes long. If this
is 0, then no checking is done and the log file will continue to
grow indefinitely. \fBDefault is 99\fP.
.TP
.B
--one-file-system|-N
Tells taper to not descend directories that are on other filesystems
.TP
.B
--overwrite|-o \fInum\fP
level of overwrite
.RS
.TP
.B
0 - no overwrite
If the file exists on the hard disk, then it is not overwritten
.TP
.B
1 - more recent overwrite. Default.
If the file exists on the hard disk, it is
only overwritten if the file on the backup
device is more recent
.TP
.B
2 - unconditional overwrite.
The file on the hard disk is always overwritten
.RE
.TP
.B
--tape-overwrite-on|+O
When doing unattended backups, if a tape contains unrecognized
data, then if this option is set, then the tape is automatically
overwritten.
.TP
.B 
--tape-overwrite-off|-O
When doing unattended backups, if a tape contains unrecognized
data, then the tape is not overwritten - the backup is aborted
and a message is mailed to the user. \fBDefault\fP.
.TP
.B
--preference-file|-p \fIfile\fP
Name of preference file.
.TP
.B
--tmp-dir|-P \fIdir\fP
Specifies the directory where temporary files are to be placed.
\fBDefault\fP is /var/tmp.
.TP
.B
--only-volume|-q \fInum\fP
Tells restore/backup to only show volume \fInum\fP in it's
window. \fBDefault\fP is 0 which means show all volumes.
.TP
.B
--fast-fsf-on|+Q
Quick fast forwards are enabled.
See the section of Quick fast forwards for more details.
\fBDefault\fP is on for \fIzftape\fP and \fISCSI\fP and
off for \fIftape\fP.
.TP
.B
.
--fast-fsf-off|-Q
Disable quick fast forwards.
.TP
.B
--relative-path|-r \fIpath\fP
directory to restore to. Note that the directory
structure of the backup is preserved
.TP
.B
--exclude-dirs|-R \fIpath\fP
which directories to automatically exclude from the backup process.
The string consists of a list of space separated directories. Note that
the selection is recursive. For example, if your exclude list was "/tmp",
the contents of /tmp will not be backed up. Also, none of
the directories in /tmp (eg. /tmp/junk) will be backed up.
\fBDefault\fP is "/tmp /usr/tmp /var/tmp /home/tmp /var/lib/taper".
.TP
.B
--strip-number|-s \fInumber\fP
remove number leading pathnames. When backing up,
the full pathname is stored in the information file
(and on the tape). You have the option of removing
number leading paths when restoring. For example,
if the file backed up was /home/yusuf/taper/README,
by specifying -s 2, the file will appear in the 
restore menu as taper/README. If -s1 was specified,
the file will appear as yusuf/taper/README. 

If there are more strips than paths (eg. specifying 
-s 6 in the above example), then the filename only is
used (eg. README).

The value -s 99 is a special value and tells
restore to work out the optimum number of
strips based on common leading paths

The \fBdefault\fP is -s 99 (ie. auto strip).
.TP
.B
--set-blocksize-on|+S
If this option is defined, then before <em/taper/
erase a tape, it tries to set the block size using
an ioctl call. This is mainly for the new
\fIzftape\fP driver, but some SCSI drives need it.
\fBDefault\fP is on for \fIzftape\fP and off for
others.
.TP
.B
--set-blocksize-off|-S
Do not try and set the block size before erasing a tape.

any tape manipulation, it tries to set the block size using an
ioctl call first. Also, before erasing a tape, it sets the
block size. 
.TP
.B
--archive-title|-t \fItitle\fP
Title of archive. \fBDefault\fP is NULL.
Only applicable when archive is being created for
the first time. If supplied when doing an archive
append, then it is ignored.
.TP
.B
--incremental-on|+u
When doing a backup, only backup those files selected 
which are more recent than the files that are on the 
backup archive. \fBDefault\fP.
.TP
.B 
--incremental-off|-u
When doing a backup, backup all files selected.
This option can be overriden when selecting files for backup.
.TP
.B
--unattended-file|-U \fIfile\fP
Gives the name of a file/directory to be backed up in 
unattended mode. If the filename begins with a @, 
then it is taken to be the name of a file set, otherwise,
it is a file. You can use as many -U as you like on 
the command line.
.TP
.B
--recent-restore-on|+w
When doing a restore, restore the most recent file
with the given filename. For example, if /etc/hosts has
been backed up twice in different volumes, restore
the file which is newer. \fBDefault\fP.
.TP
.B
--recent-restore-off|-w
When doing a restore, restore the file that was 
selected - for example, if you selected /etc/hosts 
in volume 1, this if the file that will be restored, 
even if there is an /etc/hosts in volume 2 which is 
more recent.
This option can be overriden when selected files for restoration.
.TP
.B
--version|-v
prints version being used. Also prints the options \fItaper\fP was
compiled with
.TP
.B
--unattended-id|-V
If an archive ID is specified, then taper will only append unattended
backups to the archive 'ID'. If another archive tape is in the
drive, the backup won't be made and the user mailed. \fBDefault\fP.
.TP
.B
--block-size|-x \fInum\fP
The size of a block. Apart from the tape header,
data is transferred to the tape device in blocks
of 'num' size. The \fBdefault\fP is 28K. If you use
a SCSI, see then note above. Num is in bytes.
.TP
.B
--alpha-sort-on|+y
Alphabetically sorts the filenames displayed 
in the right hand window. \fBDefault\fP.
.TP
.B
--alpha-sort-off|-y
Files are left in the order that they were backed up in.
.TP
.B
--min-free|-Y \fInum\fP
Specifies the minimum amount of free disk space that must exist
before a file is compressed. num is in kilobytes. \fBDefault\fP is 4096K.
.TP
.B
--prompt-dirs-on|+z
Turns on confirmation when selecting directories 
for backing up. \fBDefault\fP.
.TP
.B
--prompt-dirs-off|-z
Turns off confirmation when selecting directories
for backing up
.TP
.B
--tape-size|-Z \fIsize\fP
Tells \fItaper\fP the size of your tapes in megabytes. This must be the
\fIuncompressed\fP size. Note that you must specify the same number every
time you start \fItaper\fP. See notes on multiple tape backups for more
details. If this value is 0, then \fItaper\fP auto-detects the end of
tape. \fBDefault\fP is 0 (auto-detect).
.SH Files
.TP
\fI/var/lib/taper/*\fP
.TP
\fI/var/log/taper.log\fP
.TP
\fI/etc/taper/taper.prefs\fP
.TP
\fI~/.taper.prefs\fP