Displays the contents of a file or group of files on the current
output device.
Format
TYPE filespec[,...]
1 – Parameter
filespec[,...]
Specifies one or more files to be displayed. If you specify a
file name and not a file type, the file type defaults to .LIS;
however, you can specify a different default file type with the
TYPE$DEFAULT_FILESPEC logical name. The TYPE command displays all
files that satisfy the file description.
The asterisk (*) and the percent sign (%) wildcard characters
are allowed in place of the directory name, file name, file type,
or file version number field. If you specify more than one file,
separate the file specifications with commas (,) or plus signs
(+). The files are displayed in the order listed.
2 – Qualifiers
2.1 /BACKUP
Modifies the time value specified with the /BEFORE or the
/SINCE qualifier. The /BACKUP qualifier selects files according
to the dates of their most recent backups. This qualifier
is incompatible with the /CREATED, /EXPIRED, and /MODIFIED
qualifiers, which also allow you to select files according
to time attributes. If you specify none of these four time
qualifiers, the default is the /CREATED qualifier.
2.2 /BEFORE
/BEFORE[=time]
Selects only those files dated prior to the specified time. You
can specify time as absolute time, as a combination of absolute
and delta times, or as one of the following keywords: BOOT,
LOGIN, TODAY (default), TOMORROW, or YESTERDAY. Specify one of
the following qualifiers with the /BEFORE qualifier to indicate
the time attribute to be used as the basis for selection:
/BACKUP, /CREATED (default), /EXPIRED, or /MODIFIED.
For complete information on specifying time values, see the
OpenVMS User's Manual or the online help topic Date.
2.3 /BY_OWNER
/BY_OWNER[=uic]
Selects only those files whose owner user identification code
(UIC) matches the specified owner UIC. The default UIC is that of
the current process.
Specify the UIC by using standard UIC format as described in the
VSI OpenVMS Guide to System Security.
2.4 /CONFIRM
/CONFIRM
/NOCONFIRM (default)
Controls whether a request is issued before each typing operation
to confirm that the operation should be performed on that file.
The following responses are valid:
YES NO QUIT
TRUE FALSE Ctrl/Z
1 0 ALL
<Return>
You can use any combination of uppercase and lowercase letters
for word responses. Word responses can be abbreviated to one or
more letters (for example, T, TR, or TRU for TRUE), but these
abbreviations must be unique. Affirmative answers are YES, TRUE,
and 1. Negative answers include: NO, FALSE, 0, and pressing
Return. Entering QUIT or pressing Ctrl/Z indicates that you want
to stop processing the command at that point. When you respond by
entering ALL, the command continues to process, but no further
prompts are given. If you type a response other than one of
those in the list, DCL issues an error message and redisplays
the prompt.
2.5 /CONTINUOUS
/CONTINUOUS/INTERVAL=n
Upon reaching the end of a file, TYPE waits a specified number
of seconds (the default is 30) then displays any records which
have been added to the file and returns to the wait state. TYPE
continues until either Ctrl/C or Ctrl/Y is entered by the user.
2.6 /CREATED
/CREATED (default)
Modifies the time value specified with the /BEFORE or the /SINCE
qualifier. The /CREATED qualifier selects files based on their
dates of creation. This qualifier is incompatible with the
/BACKUP, /EXPIRED, and /MODIFIED qualifiers, which also allow
you to select files according to time attributes. If you specify
none of these four time qualifiers, the default is the /CREATED
qualifier.
2.7 /EXACT
Use with the /PAGE=SAVE and /SEARCH qualifiers to specify a
search string that must match the search string exactly and must
be enclosed with quotation marks (" ").
If you specify the /EXACT qualifier without the /SEARCH
qualifier, exact search mode is enabled when you set the search
string with the Find (E1) key.
2.8 /EXCLUDE
/EXCLUDE=(filespec[,...])
Excludes the specified files from the type operation. You can
include a directory but not a device in the file specification.
The asterisk (*) and the percent sign (%) wildcard characters
are allowed in the file specification; however, you cannot use
relative version numbers to exclude a specific version. If you
specify only one file, you can omit the parentheses.
2.9 /EXPIRED
Modifies the time value specified with the /BEFORE or the /SINCE
qualifier. The /EXPIRED qualifier selects files according to
their expiration dates. (The expiration date is set with the
SET FILE/EXPIRATION_DATE command.) The /EXPIRED qualifier
is incompatible with the /BACKUP, /CREATED, and /MODIFIED
qualifiers, which also allow you to select files according
to time attributes. If you specify none of these four time
qualifiers, the default is the /CREATED qualifier.
2.10 /HEADER
/HEADER
/NOHEADER
Specifies whether a header line is placed at the top of each file
that is displayed with the TYPE /PAGE=SAVE command.
2.11 /HIGHLIGHT
/HIGHLIGHT[=keyword]
Use with the /PAGE=SAVE and /SEARCH qualifiers to specify the
type of highlighting you want when a search string is found. When
a string is found, the entire line is highlighted. You can use
the following keywords: BOLD, BLINK, REVERSE, and UNDERLINE. BOLD
is the default highlighting.
2.12 /MODIFIED
Modifies the time value specified with the /BEFORE or the /SINCE
qualifier. The /MODIFIED qualifier selects files according to
the dates on which they were last modified. This qualifier
is incompatible with the /BACKUP, /CREATED, and /EXPIRED
qualifiers, which also allow you to select files according
to time attributes. If you specify none of these four time
modifiers, the default is the /CREATED qualifier.
2.13 /OUTPUT
/OUTPUT[=filespec]
/NOOUTPUT
Controls where the output of the command is sent. If you
specify the /OUTPUT=filespec qualifier, the output is sent to
the specified file, rather than to the current output device,
SYS$OUTPUT. If you do not enter the qualifier, or if you enter
the /OUTPUT qualifier without a file specification, the output is
sent to SYS$OUTPUT.
If you enter the /OUTPUT qualifier with a partial file
specification (for example, /OUTPUT=[VAKHRAMEEV]), TYPE is
the default file name and .LIS the default file type. The file
specification cannot include the asterisk (*) and the percent
sign (%) wildcard characters.
If you enter the /NOOUTPUT qualifier, output is suppressed.
The /OUTPUT qualifier is incompatible with the /PAGE qualifier.
2.14 /PAGE
/PAGE[=keyword]
/NOPAGE (default)
Controls the display of information on the screen.
You can use the following keywords with the /PAGE qualifier:
CLEAR_SCREEN Clears the screen before each page is displayed.
SCROLL Displays information one line at a time.
SAVE[=n] Enables screen navigation of information, where n
is the number of pages to store.
The /PAGE=SAVE qualifier allows you to navigate through screens
of information. The /PAGE=SAVE qualifier stores up to 5 screens
of up to 255 columns of information. When you use the /PAGE=SAVE
qualifier, you can use the following keys to navigate through the
information:
Key Sequence Description
Up arrow key, Ctrl/B Scroll up one line.
Down arrow key Scroll down one line.
Left arrow key Scroll left one column.
Right arrow key Scroll right one column.
Find (E1) Specify a string to find when the
information is displayed.
Insert Here (E2) Scroll right one half screen.
Remove (E3) Scroll left one half screen.
Select (E4) Toggle 80/132 column mode.
Prev Screen (E5) Get the previous page of information.
Next Screen (E6), Get the next page of information.
Return, Enter, Space
F10, Ctrl/Z Exit. (Some utilities define these
differently.)
Help (F15) Display utility help text.
Do (F16) Toggle the display to oldest/newest
page.
Ctrl/W Refresh the display.
N Display the next file (when more than
one file is specified with the TYPE
command)
Q Quit displaying output from the TYPE
command.
The /PAGE qualifier is not compatible with the /OUTPUT qualifier.
2.15 /SEARCH
/SEARCH="string"
Use with the /PAGE=SAVE qualifier to specify a string that you
want to find in the information being displayed. Quotation marks
are required for the /SEARCH qualifier, if you include spaces in
the text string.
You can also dynamically change the search string by pressing the
Find key (E1) while the information is being displayed. Quotation
marks are not required for a dynamic search.
2.16 /SINCE
/SINCE[=time]
Selects only those files dated on or after the specified time.
You can specify time as absolute time, as a combination of
absolute and delta times, or as one of the following keywords:
BOOT, JOB_LOGIN, LOGIN, TODAY (default), TOMORROW, or YESTERDAY.
Specify one of the following qualifiers with the /SINCE qualifier
to indicate the time attribute to be used as the basis for
selection: /BACKUP, /CREATED (default), /EXPIRED, or /MODIFIED.
For complete information on specifying time values, see the
OpenVMS User's Manual or the online help topic Date.
2.17 /STYLE
/STYLE=keyword
Specifies the file name format for display purposes while typing
files.
The valid keywords for this qualifier are CONDENSED and EXPANDED.
Descriptions are as follows:
Keyword Explanation
CONDENSED Displays the file name representation of what is
(default) generated to fit into a 255-length character string.
This file name may contain a DID or FID abbreviation
in the file specification.
EXPANDED Displays the file name representation of what is
stored on disk. This file name does not contain any
DID or FID abbreviations.
The keywords CONDENSED and EXPANDED are mutually exclusive. This
qualifier specifies which file name format is displayed in the
output message, along with the confirmation if requested.
File errors are displayed with the CONDENSED file specification
unless the EXPANDED keyword is specified.
See the OpenVMS User's Manual for more information.
2.18 /SYMLINK
/SYMLINK=keyword
The valid keywords for this qualifier are [NO]WILDCARD and
[NO]ELLIPSIS. Descriptions are as follows:
Keyword Explanation
WILDCARD Indicates that symlinks are enabled during wildcard
searches.
NOWILDCARD Indicates that symlinks are disabled during directory
wildcard searches.
ELLIPSIS Equivalent to WILDCARD (included for command
symmetry).
NOELLIPSIS Indicates that symlinks are matched for all wildcard
fields except for ellipsis.
If the file named in the TYPE command is a symlink, the command
operates on the symlink target.
2.19 /TAIL
/TAIL[=n]
Displays the last several lines of a log file. The value, n,
defaults to p-2 where p is the current terminal page length. You
can use TYPE/TAIL only if all of the following criteria are true:
o File organization is sequential.
o The longest record is less than 512 bytes.
o The record format is either VAR, VFC, STM, STRCM or STMLF
(for more information, see the description of FAB$B_RFM in the
OpenVMS Record Management Services Reference Manual).
o The file being typed is on a device that supports random
access. The TYPE/TAIL command does not work on magnetic tape
drives.
Even with this criteria, some file conditions cannot be
anticipated and may not allow display of the last several lines
of a log file, resulting in the following error message:
%TYPE-W-READERR, error reading DEVICE:[DIRECTORY]FILE.EXT;1
-SYSTEM-E-UNSUPPORTED, unsupported operation or function
2.20 /WRAP
/WRAP
/NOWRAP (default)
Use with the /PAGE=SAVE qualifier to limit the number of columns
to the width of the screen and to wrap lines that extend beyond
the width of the screen to the next line.
The /NOWRAP qualifier extends lines beyond the width of the
screen and can be seen when you use the scrolling (left and
right) features provided by the /PAGE=SAVE qualifier.
3 – Examples
1.$ TYPE COMMON.DAT
In this example, the TYPE command requests that the file
COMMON.DAT be displayed at the terminal.
2.$ TYPE *.DAT
This is the first line in the file AA.DAT.
.
.
.
<Ctrl/O>
This is the first line in the file BB.DAT.
.
.
.
<Ctrl/Y>
Interrupt
$ STOP
In this example, the TYPE command contains an asterisk (*)
wildcard character in place of the file name. All files with
file types of .DAT are scheduled for display. When Ctrl/O is
pressed, output of the current file stops and the TYPE command
begins displaying the next file. The Ctrl/Y function interrupts
the command; the STOP command terminates the TYPE command.
3.$ TYPE LETTER*.MEM
December 14, 2002
.
.
.
<Ctrl/Y>
Interrupt
$ SHOW TIME
14-DEC-2002 15:48:07
$ CONTINUE
Sincerely yours,
.
.
.
In this example, the TYPE command displays all files whose
names begin with the word LETTER and have the file type .MEM.
While the files are being displayed, the user presses Ctrl/Y
to interrupt the TYPE operation and to display the time. After
entering the SHOW TIME command, the user enters the CONTINUE
command to resume the TYPE operation.
4.$ TYPE/OUTPUT=SAVETEXT.TXT *.TXT
In this example, the TYPE command writes all TXT files in your
default directory to a file called SAVETEXT.TXT (also in your
default directory).
5.$ TYPE MEXICO::NOTICE.TEXT/OUTPUT=TEMP.TEXT
In this example, the TYPE command requests that the file
NOTICE.TEXT at remote node MEXICO be written to the output
file TEMP.TEXT on the local node, rather than to SYS$OUTPUT.
6.$ TYPE SECSYS"FILES OFFICEFIL"::"TASK=SHOWUSERS"
VAX/VMS Interactive Users
14-DEC-2002 17:20:13.30
Total number of interactive users = 5
Username Process Name PID Terminal
MIRANDA Sec1 00536278 TXA1:
JESSICA Sec2 00892674 VTA2:
EMILY Sec3 00847326 TXA3:
ANDREW Sec4 02643859 RTA1:
BRIAN System Mangr 00007362 VTA1:
In this example, the TYPE command executes the command
procedure SHOWUSERS.COM found in the SYS$LOGIN directory of
user FILES on remote node SECSSYS. The output of the TYPE
command then is displayed at the local node.