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(tar.info)Tape Files

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Tape Files
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   To give the archive a name which will be recorded in it, use the
`--label=ARCHIVE-LABEL' (`-V ARCHIVE-LABEL') option.  This will write a
special block identifying VOLUME-LABEL as the name of the archive to
the front of the archive which will be displayed when the archive is
listed with `--list' (`-t').  If you are creating a multi-volume
archive with `--multi-volume' (`-M'), then the volume label will have
`Volume NNN' appended to the name you give, where NNN is the number of
the volume of the archive.  (If you use the `--label=ARCHIVE-LABEL'
(`-V ARCHIVE-LABEL') option when reading an archive, it checks to make
sure the label on the tape matches the one you give.  Note: label.

   When `tar' writes an archive to tape, it creates a single tape file.
If multiple archives are written to the same tape, one after the
other, they each get written as separate tape files.  When extracting,
it is necessary to position the tape at the right place before running
`tar'.  To do this, use the `mt' command.  For more information on the
`mt' command and on the organization of tapes into a sequence of tape
files, see Note: mt.

   People seem to often do:

     --label="SOME-PREFIX `date +SOME-FORMAT`"

   or such, for pushing a common date in all volumes or an archive set.