TOPS-20 Commands Reference Manual

Appendix C File attributes

This appendix lists the attributes that you can include in a file specification. The DECnet-related attributes are described in detail in the DECnet documentation. Information on file attributes is also contained in the TOPS-20 User's Guide, the TOPS-20 Monitor Calls Reference Manual, and the TOPS-20 Tape Processing Manual.

;A:account System manager defined account string
;BDATA:user data DECnet optional binary data
;BLOCK-LENGTH:n Maximum size of a physical block on a labeled tape.
;BPASSWORD:password DECnet binary password
;CHARGE:account DECnet account string
;DATA:user data DECnet optional data
;EXPIRATION-DATE:date Date the magnetic tape file can be overwritten
;FORMAT:F,D,S, or U Magnetic labeled tape record format:
  • F=fixed-length
  • D=variable-length
  • S=spanned
  • U=undefined
;OFF-LINE Designation for a file that is off-line because of migration or archiving
;P:n File protection value
;PASSWORD:password DECnet password
;POSITION:n File sequence number for magnetic tape positioning
;RECORD-LENGTH:n Maximum size of a magnetic labeled tape record
;T Designation for a file that is to be deleted at log-out time (a temporary file). Only for files in log-in and/or connected directories.
;USERID:id DECnet user ID string

Note that you can issue TOPS-20 commands as an alternative to specifying many of the file attributes. For example, SET FILE PROTECTION, rather than the P attribute, can be used to set the file protection. Also, such commands as INFORMATION FILE-STATUS and DIRECTORY (with the EVERYTHING subcommand) display your file attribute settings.