# QS-pointer

A QS-pointer defines a remote file that is saved as if it were local.

The first attribute of such a pointer must be QS. The second attribute must be null. The third
 attribute must be a remote host name followed by a colon followed by the remote file name.
 Applications beyond the third attribute are applications specific.

 Any header information associated with a particular file driver is also saved to guarantee
 that the data can be restored with the same attributes as it was saved. For example, UNIX files
 are saved with all permissions, ownerships, and update stamps intact.

 CAUTION:
 Saving data over a network is inherently slower than saving data on a local machine. We
 suggest saving most D3 data on the local file-save, and using the QS-pointer
 functionality primarily to save things like UNIX source code and/or documents stored on remote
 MS-DOS machines.

 The remote file system must be accessible at restore time.

 When restoring UNIX files stored on a D3 file save, the UNIX user running the restore
 *must* be root to guarantee the proper restoration of permissions and
 ownership information.

## Example(s)

The following QS-pointer causes the file-save to save all accessible files
 (not including subdirectories) in the UNIX /u/john directory. Note that the UNIX permissions of
 the D3 user must be sufficient to access the data on that UNIX directory.

```
001 QS
002
003 unix:/u/john
```

 The following QS-pointer causes the remote D3 file pa,bp, on the host prod to be saved on the
 local file save.

```
001 QS
002
003 prod:pa,bp,
```

## See also

- [Binary files (glossary)](https://d3codex.com/definitions/binary-files-glossary/)
- [Header files](https://d3codex.com/definitions/header-files/)
- [hosts file](https://d3codex.com/systemfiles/hosts-file/)
- [peqs](https://d3codex.com/tcl/peqs/)
- [Super Q-pointer](https://d3codex.com/definitions/super-q-pointer/)
- [UNIX files](https://d3codex.com/definitions/unix-files-glossary/)

---
Source: https://d3codex.com/definitions/qs-pointer/ - part of the D3Codex reference.