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the <quote>custom</quote> format (<option>-Fc</option>). It allows

for selection and reordering of all archived items, and is compressed

by default. The <application>tar</application> format

(<option>-Ft</option>) is not compressed andit is not possible to

reorder data when loading, but it is otherwise quite flexible;

(<option>-Ft</option>) is not compressed andhas restrictions on

reordering data when loading, but it is otherwise quite flexible;

moreover, it can be manipulated with standard Unix tools such as

<command>tar</command>.

</para>

<term><literal>custom</></term>

<listitem>

<para>

Output a custom archive suitable for input into

<application>pg_restore</application>. This is the most flexible

format in that it allows reordering of loading data as well

as object definitions. This format is also compressed by default.

Output a custom-format archive suitable for input into

<application>pg_restore</application>.

This is the most flexible output format in that it allows manual

selection and reordering of archived items during restore.

This format is also compressed by default.

</para>

</listitem>

</varlistentry>

<term><literal>tar</></term>

<listitem>

<para>

Output a <command>tar</command> archive suitable for input into

<application>pg_restore</application>. Using this archive format

allows reordering and/or exclusion of database objects

at the time the database is restored. It is also possible to limit

which data is reloaded at restore time.

Output a <command>tar</command>-format archive suitable for input

into <application>pg_restore</application>.

This output format allows manual selection and reordering of

archived items during restore, but there is a restriction: the

relative order of table data items cannot be changed during

restore. Also, <command>tar</command> format does not support

compression and has a limit of 8 GB on the size of individual

tables.

</para>

</listitem>

</varlistentry>