	TAPER.HLP   USER INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE MAGNETIC TAPE READER

*******************************************************************************

WRITTEN BY:  ROGER MATUS, DOUGLAS BOHRER
             PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT, THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF CHICAGO
             1 FIRST NATIONAL PLAZA, 22ND FLOOR
             CHICAGO, ILLINOIS  60670

DATE:        11-JUN-80


*******************************************************************************

	Neither First Chicago Corporation, the First National Bank of Chicago,
nor any of its employees makes any warranty, either expressed or implied,
assumes any legal liability, nor any responsibility for the accuracy,
completeness or usefulness of any information, product or process disclosed.
Neither does First Chicago Corporation, the First National Bank of Chicago, nor
any of its employees represent that use of this material would not infringe
privately owned rights.

*******************************************************************************

	This is the user's guide for the TAPER system.  Technical information
is contained in the file TAPER.DOC.  This guide gives step-by-step
instructions and useful hints for operating TAPER.  The format is to print,
in order in which they might appear, the system prompts to the user and then
list what the responses might mean.

	To start an installed TAPER system from monitor mode, the RT-11 user
would simply type:

			R TAPER

	To halt execution of TAPER at any time, the user should type two
<CONTROL>C's in a row.  This is done by holding the <CONTROL> key down as
the user might hold down a <SHIFT> key.  Then, type the letter C twice.
Execution will stop almost immediately and the user will be in monitor mode.
This might be called the "rip-cord" approach as the tape is not rewound
and any open file may not be closed properly.  A <CONTROL>C in response
to a question will halt execution without any open files.

	The system prompts will appear in all capital letters, while comments
will be in lower case:

1. IS THIS AN EBCDIC TAPE (Y/N)?

	Answering "Y" will invoke the EBCDIC to ASCII translator for the
	remainder of the time the user is running the program.  Answering
	"N" will leave the data unchanged.  If the user doesn't know if
	the tape is ASCII or EBCDIC, the user should answer "N" to this
	question.  Later, when the data is displayed, the user can see
	if the data makes sense.  If not, the user can re-execute the
	program using the translator. If the user does not translate an
	EBCDIC character tape, many "@" usually appear when the record is
	displayed.  When translated from EBCDIC to ASCII, the "@" becomes
	a space.
	TAPER.HLP  -- PAGE 2 --

2. AT BEGINNING OF TAPE (BOT).
   SKIP ANY FILES (Y/N)  ?

	This program will tell the user how many files have been read
	by TAPER.  If not at BOT, the user will be notified: AT THE
	BEGINNING OF FILE n.  This is automatically adjusted when TAPER
	rewinds the tape (as it does whenever it is first executed).

	If there is only one file on the tape, or if the user wishes
	to read the first (or next) file, the answer "N" should be given.
	If the	user wishes to pass the first (or next) file on the tape, the
	answer should be "Y".

	Note that header and trailer records, which end with tape marks,
	are considered files by the TAPER system.  In effect, a tape
	mark tells TAPER that one file is done and the next file, if any,
	begins. If the user does not know if there are header and trailer
	files, the user would want to look at the first file.  A telltale
	sign of a header is the presence of the letters HDR in the first
	three columns of the first record.

3. HOW MANY FILES SHOULD WE SKIP?

	This question is asked only if "Y" was answered in question two.
	The TAPER system will advance the number of tape marks
	mentioned in the answer.  Remember that header and trailer
	records frequently have tape marks and will be included in the
	count.

	If the user is unsure about how many files to skip, it is better
	to guess low.  It is always possible to skip a file and read on
	to the next file.  However, it is not possible to skip back other
	than to rewind the entire tape and start from the BOT.

4. AT THE BEGINNING OF FILE n.
   THIS BLOCK HAS nnnn CHARACTERS.  IT BEGINS WITH:
   ----------------------------------------------------------------------
   xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
   ----------------------------------------------------------------------
   WANT THIS BLOCK (Y/N)?

   	The program now gives the user important information.  First, in
	the top line, is the block size.  Then, up to 72 characters of
	this block are displayed.  If the EBCDIC translator was invoked,
	these characters are translated.

	From this information, the user should be able to tell whether
	the translation or lack of translation is appropriate.  Packed
	or numeric data will give an unpredictable display.  It may be
	possible to see if this is a header record, which the user does
	not want written to disc, or even if it is the wrong file.

	If this block should not be written to disc for any of the reasons
	mentioned above, the answer should be "N".  If the user answers
	"N" four times in a row, question 5 is asked.

	TAPER.HLP  -- PAGE 3 --

5. THIS WAS YOUR FOURTH TRY.  GO TO NEW FILE (Y/N)?

	If the answer is "Y", the user will have the option to rewind
	to the BOT or to skip to the next file.  The option is given in
	question 6, below.  An answer of "N" will instruct the system
	to continue to try this file.  If the user wishes to stop
	execution, two <CONTROL>C's would be appropriate.

6. WANT TO REWIND TO BOT (Y/N)?

	An answer of "Y" will rewind the tape and start the sequence
	from question 2.  An answer of "N" will instruct TAPER to skip
	until the next tape mark.

7. RECORD SIZE?

	If the user is here, then a file is about to be read.  Any
	record size from 1 to 1020 will be accepted by TAPER. However,
	a record size greater than 132 will cause unpredictable
	results and the data is probably not reliable.

	TAPER cannot properly handle spanned records on the tape (see
	TAPER.DOC for details).  The user should select a record size
	that divides evenly into the listed block size.  TAPER will
	allow any record size that is in range, but will issue a warning
	if the record size does not divide evenly into any block (not
	just the first) that is read.

8. OUTPUT FILE NAME?

	The normal Digital Equipment rules of syntax apply here. Namely,
	DEV:FILENAME.EXT. The syntax is checked by the system as it tries
	to open a file.  Therefore, a bad specification will cause a system
	error to occur.  The user may designate any write-enabled device
	without a system error, however, the results to a serial device
	(i.e. line printer, terminal, card punch) may not be what is expected.
	To print a file, the user is advised to read it into disc and then
	print the file if space is available.

	At this point, the writing begins.  If the system stops execution
	during the process (for a power failure or <CONTROL>C's), the file
	will not be properly closed.  A directory entry will appear, but
	the file will have no records.  The records that were read will be
	lost.

9. READ MORE FILES (Y/N)?

	An answer of "Y" will give the user the option to read or skip the
	next file on the tape.  A reply of "N" will rewind the tape and
	cause an exit from the program.

10. *** WARNING *** POSSIBLE LOGICAL END OF TAPE.
    READ ON (Y/N)?

	When two tape marks are found in a row, most systems consider it to
	be the end of the tape.  Because foreign tapes may be read, TAPER
	does not make that assumption.  The user is warned and given the
	option to stop or read on.  If it was the logical end of tape, and
	the user does read on, it is possible for the tape to keep going
	and even spin off the reel.  This can be halted by two <CONTROL>C's.
	A response of "Y" will print a message, will rewind the tape and
	then exit the program.
