Date   : Fri, 09 Dec 1983 09:41:00-EST
From   : MOOERS@bbna
Subject: Re: Special characters in SIMTEL20 files

TOPS20, for unknown reasons, normally accepts only the following
"standard" characters in file names: uppercase A through Z,
numbers 0 through 9, and the punctuation characters dollarsign
($), hyphen (-), and underscore (_).  Also, when you are creating
or typing filenames, TOPS-20 automatically converts lowercase a
through z to uppercase.

If you want to type any other "nonstandard" character, such as
lowercase a,  circumflex (^) or backslash (\), which appears in
a file name, you must "quote" the character.  The method of
quoting such a character is to type Control-V before you type the
character.  The filename that contains the nonstandard character
also contains a Control-V preceding the character, but TOPS-20
cleverly doesn't show you the Control-V.  (Except sometimes it
does, as "^V"; I can't give you the rule for when.)

Sometimes people include "nonstandard" characters in filenames
deliberately to keep other people from typing them.  I have come
to the conclusion, based on bitter experience, that this is a bad
idea.  I believe, however, that the "nonstandard" characters in
the files in question were standard characters on the machine
from which the files were transferrred.

---Charlotte Mooers