# creating tar getting errors



## robert wild (May 26, 2017)

hi all,

I'm getting this when I create a tar using this command

`tar -cf filename.tar /path/to/directory`


```
: Can't translate pathname 'Even When I Fall - January 2017 Project/Even When I Fall_Fx/MOLINARE Copy of  EWIF-Friday-MeteorSwoosh/Audio Files/._103-summit roof.. Differnet directions.. General ambience… but very quiet-clip.L' to UTF-8: Can't translate pathname 'Even When I Fall - January 2017 Project/Even When I Fall_Fx/MOLINARE Copy of  EWIF-Friday-MeteorSwoosh/Audio Files/103-summit roof.. Differnet directions.. General ambience… but very quiet-clip.L' to UTF-8: Can't translate pathname
```
It completes the tar file but why am I getting these warnings/errors,

Many thanks.

rob


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## Beastie (May 26, 2017)

Most likely an encoding and locale problem. I'd say it's caused by the horizontal ellipsis character after the word "ambience". Rename the file to have "..." (three separate dots) instead of "…" (as one character) and try again.


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## robert wild (May 26, 2017)

thanks for the quick response much appreciated

will the tar file be ok ie will it copy everything like for like and its just giving me warnings but the tar file will still be fine

or can i do a md5 checksum to make sure its like for like


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## Beastie (May 26, 2017)

I may be wrong, but since it couldn't read the path, it probably skipped the file. So the archive should be fine, but it just won't include the offending file.

This is mere speculation though. So yes, you should check the resulting archive. Try extracting it into a temporary location and see if the file is present or not.


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## phoenix (May 26, 2017)

No extraction required, just list the contents of the archive:  `tar -tvf filename.tar`


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## robert wild (May 26, 2017)

thanks all, i just had a brain wave

whats the command to extract, i know the command to create

create -

`tar -cf whatyouwanttarfilecalled.tar /path/to/dir/you/want/to/tar`

extract -

`cd /path/to/tar
tar -xf whatyouwanttarfilecalled.tar`

and then i will do a size of directory and do a file count on both

what you think?


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## Beastie (May 27, 2017)

If you intend to extract the archive and compare the entire hierarchy to the source file by file, then mtree(8) may be more appropriate and straightforward, as ShelLuser already suggested in your other thread.


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