Microsoft® Windows® Scripting Self-Paced Learning Guide

File Attributes

File attributes are aspects such as read-only, hidden, system, and archive that are used to configure how a file can be utilized by the operating system. These are the same attributes you can set via the attrib.exe command or the Properties Action menu in Explorer.exe. These attributes are not hidden from ordinary users (they are easily read in Explorer.exe), and they are used to control how backups run and to prevent accidental overwriting of important configuration and system files. This fact makes file attributes of interest to network administrators. A file attribute is stored as a bitmask value to conserve space. When you query the file attribute, only a single number is returned. When a file is hidden, VBScript returns a ...