Reading Files from a Tape

The Read menu, available from the Read button at the top of the Tape Tool base window, has three options to read files from the tape or archive files to the directory specified in the Tape Tool window.

When you read files that have a path name in front of them (an absolute path name), as shown in the Tape Contents list, that path name is always used as the destination.

If the files are not preceded by a file name, the directory you specify in the Destination text field is used as the destination.

Read Selected

When you have listed the contents of a tape and selected all or some of the files, choosing Selected from the Read menu copies the specified files to the destination directory shown in the control area.

When you have not listed the contents of a tape, choosing Selected displays the Tape Contents window without a listing. If you know the names of specific files that you want to retrieve, you can type a name in the File To Read text field, then press the Return key or click SELECT on the File To Read button to add them to the list.

Read Entire List

When you have listed the files from a tape, choosing Entire List from the Read menu reads the entire list of files from the Tape Contents window.

When you have not listed the contents of a tape, choosing Entire List displays the Tape Contents window without a listing.

While the files are being read, messages are displayed in the footer of the Tape Tool window showing you the percentage of files that have been read. As the files are read, they are removed from the Tape Contents window. When the process is complete, a message is displayed in the footer of the Tape Tool window telling you how many files were read.

If there are a large number of files, it may take several minutes for the files to be copied to your system.

Read Entire Tape

Choosing Entire Tape from the Read menu copies all of the files on the tape to the destination directory without displaying the Tape Contents window.