Attrib command ( Change attributes of a file or folder)

Displays, sets, or removes attributes assigned to files or directories. If used without parameters, attrib displays attributes of all files in the current directory.

Syntax

attrib [{+|-}r] [{+|-}a] [{+|-}s] [{+|-}h] [{+|-}i] [:][][] [/s [/d] [/l]]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
{+|-}r	Sets (+) or clears (-) the Read-only file attribute.
{+|-}a	Sets (+) or clears (-) the Archive file attribute.
{+|-}s	Sets (+) or clears (-) the System file attribute.
{+|-}h	Sets (+) or clears (-) the Hidden file attribute.
{+|-}i	Sets (+) or clears (-) the Not Content Indexed file attribute.
[:][][]	Specifies the location and name of the directory, file, or group of files for which you want to display or change attributes. You can use the ? and * wildcard characters in the FileName parameter to display or change the attributes for a group of files.
/s	Applies attrib and any command-line options to matching files in the current directory and all of its subdirectories.
/d	Applies attrib and any command-line options to directories.
/l	Applies attrib and any command-line options to the Symbolic Link, rather than the target of the Symbolic Link.
/?	Displays help at the command prompt.

Remarks

• You can use wildcard characters (? and *) with the FileName parameter to display or change the attributes for a group of files.
  
• If a file has the System (s) or Hidden (h) attribute set, you must clear the attribute before you can change any other attributes for that file.
  
• The Archive attribute (a) marks files that have changed since the last time they were backed up. Note that the xcopycommand uses archive attributes.
  

Examples

To display the attributes of a file named News86 that is located in the current directory, type:

attrib news86 

To assign the Read-only attribute to the file named Report.txt, type:

attrib +r report.txt 

To remove the Read-only attribute from files in the Public directory and its subdirectories on a disk in drive B, type:

attrib -r b:\public\*.* /s 

To set the Archive attribute for all files on drive A, and then clear the Archive attribute for files with the .bak extension, type:

attrib +a a:*.* & attrib -a a:*.bak 

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