Windows: How to View the Attributes of Files and Folders by Using "attrib" Command

Every file and folder have several different attributes assigned that you can view and change from the command line with attrib command. You can view all of the existing attributes for files or folders by entering the following command:

attrib

You can also view and configure most of these attributes in Windows Explorer, as shown in the following figure:

Note: The extended attributes (compressed and encrypted) are not viewable using the attrib command, but you can view them using the compact and cipher commands, respectively.

The different attributes that you can see with attrib are identified by single capital letters, such as R and H.

Attribute	Description
R	Indicates the file is read-only.
H	Indicates the file is hidden.
A	When set, indicates the file has not been backed up or has been modified since it was last backed up. When this attribute is set, it identifies that The File Is Ready For Archiving option is enables. Look at the following figure: When a file does not have A attribute, it indicates the file has been backed up (not changed after the later backup operation). The File Is Ready For Archiving check box will be unchecked.
I
S	Indicates that the file is a system file.

Attributes can be modified with the attrib command using the + or - character and the associated letter.