File attributes are settings associated with computer files that grant or deny certain rights to how a user can access that file. Common attributes include Read-Only, Archive, Hidden, and System.  Newer Windows operating systems offer extended attributes.

 

On the Compare File Properties window, when you choose the Attributes property, FolderMatch shows a string of characters which represents the file's attributes. Each letter in the string stands for a file attribute.

 

Example: The attribute string for a read-only, encrypted file is RE.

 

The list below shows each letter and the file attribute it represents. When possible, we use the same letters used by the Windows ATTRIB command. In some cases Microsoft uses the same letter for different attributes. We’ve used lowercase and an uppercase letters to distinguish between them.

 

R

Read-only

H

Hidden

S

System

v

Volume Label

D

Directory

A

Archive

x

Device

N

Normal

T

Temporary

p

Sparse File

L

Reparse Point

C

Compressed

O

Offline

I

Not content indexed

E

Encrypted

V

Integrity Stream

X

No scrub data

P

Pinned

U

Unpinned

 

Other file attributes that have no single letter representation (that we know of) include:  

Virtual

Recall On Open

Recall On Data Access

 

Microsoft changes this list occasionally. If we encounter an attribute we weren’t expecting, we’ll use a “?” character to let you know.  

 

For more information about File Attributes, see the Microsoft website.