Template "F" line          AFS Commands       Template "F" line


NAME

   Template "F" line -- create a file by copying a prototype.


   F <pathname> <mode> <owner> <prototype>

DESCRIPTION

   Creates  a  file  anywhere in the file system by copying the
   contents of an existing "prototype" file into the new  file.
   Its  intended  use  is creation of standard files in the new
   user's home directory or a subdirectory of it.  Include  one
   "F" line for each file to be created.

   "F"  lines should appear in the template after the "D" lines
   that define the subdirectories they go in.   Any  number  of
   "F" lines may appear in a template.

WARNING

   Using  the  "F"  line to create a file outside AFS (e.g., in
   the UNIX file system of the client  machine  where  the  uss
   command is being issued) introduces a potential complication
   if the issuer wishes to set the <owner> field  to  something
   other  than  his  or  her  own  user  name or UNIX UID.  The
   default owner of a UNIX file system directory  is  the  user
   who  created  it  (in  this  case,  the  issuer  of  the uss
   command).  Changing this default, which uss will attempt  if
   anything other than the issuer's name appears in the <owner>
   field, requires issuing the chown  command,  which  in  turn
   requires  being the super-user "root".  If the issuer wishes
   to specify an alternate owner, he or she must be  "root"  in
   the  UNIX file system and use the -admin flag in order to be
   recognized in AFS as a privileged administrator.    See  the
   description of the -admin argument for uss add and uss bulk.

   The preferred method for automatic placement of files on the
   local disk is the package program, which runs as "root".

ARGUMENTS

   F         should be a capital letter and tells  the  command
             interpreter   that   this   is   a   file-creation
             instruction.

   pathname  is the full pathname of the file to be created.

   mode      sets the UNIX mode bits for the file.   Provide  a
             four-digit  decimal  number in this field, such as
             0666 or 0644.

   owner     names the file's owner (in the  UNIX  file  system
             sense).   If the directory is being placed in AFS,
             the $UID variable should appear in this field.  If
             the  directory  is being placed into the UNIX file
             system rather than AFS, this  field  must  contain
             the  user  name  or  UNIX UID of the uss command's
             issuer, or the account creation will abort at that
             point.

   prototype specifies  the complete pathname of the file whose



             contents are to be copied into the new file.    It
             may  reside  in  either AFS or the local UNIX file
             system.

EXAMPLE

   The following,  appropriate  for  the  Transarc  Corporation
   cell,    copies    a   standard   .login   file   (kept   in
   /afs/transarc.com/common/uss/skel)    into     user     home
   directories.    This  would  appear  on a single line in the
   actual template.

       F $MTPT/.login 0644 $UID
           /afs/transarc.com/common/uss/skel/.login
