ATTRIB - Change or view file attributes

 Purpose:    Change or view file and subdirectory attributes. 
             
 Format:     ATTRIB [/A:[[-]rhsda] /D /E /P /Q /S] [+|-[AHRS]] file ... 
             
             file :  A file, directory, or list of files or directories on 
             which to operate. 
             

             /A: (Attribute select)          /P(ause) 
             /D(irectories)                  /Q(uiet) 
             /E (No error messages)          /S(ubdirectories) 
 

 Attribute flags: 

             +A      Set the archive attribute 
             -A      Clear the archive attribute 
             +H      Set the hidden attribute 
             -H      Clear the hidden attribute 
             +R      Set the read-only attribute 
             -R      Clear the read-only attribute 
             +S      Set the system attribute 
             -S      Clear the system attribute 
 
 File Selection 

 Supports extended wildcards, ranges, multiple file names, and include 
 lists. 

 Usage 

 Every file and subdirectory has 4 attributes that can be turned on (set) 
 or turned off (cleared):  Archive, Hidden, Read- only, and System. 

 The ATTRIB command lets you view, set, or clear attributes for any file, 
 group of files, or subdirectory.  You can view file attributes by 
 entering ATTRIB without specifying new attributes (i.e., without the 
 [+|-[AHRS]] part of the format), or with the DIR /T command. 

 You can view file attributes by entering ATTRIB without specifying new 
 attributes (i.e., without the [+|-[AHRS]] part of the format).  (You can 
 also view file attributes with the DIR /T command.) 

 The primary use of ATTRIB is to set attributes.  For example, you can set 
 the read-only and hidden attributes for the file MEMO: 

 
         [c:\] attrib +rh memo
 

 Attribute options apply to the file(s) that follow the options on the 
 ATTRIB command line.  The example below shows how to set different 
 attributes on different files with a single command.  It sets the archive 
 attribute for all .TXT files, then sets the system attribute and clears 
 the archive attribute for TEST.COM : 

 
         [c:\] attrib +a *.txt +s -a test.com
 

 When you use ATTRIB on an HPFS drive, you must quote any file names which 
 contain whitespace or special characters.  See File Names for additional 
 details. 

 To change directory attributes, use the /D switch.  If you give ATTRIB a 
 directory name instead of a file name, and omit /D, it will append "\*.*" 
 to the end of the name and act on all files in that directory, rather 
 than acting on the directory itself. 

 Your operating system also supports "D" (subdirectory) and "V" (volume 
 label) attributes.  These attributes cannot be altered with ATTRIB; they 
 are designed to be controlled only by the operating system itself. 

 ATTRIB will ignore underlines in the new attribute (the [+|-[AHRS]] part 
 of the command).  For example, ATTRIB sees these two commands as 
 identical: 

 
         [c:\] attrib +a filename
         [c:\] attrib +__A_ filename
 

 This allows you to use a string of attributes from either the @ATTRIB 
 variable function or from ATTRIB itself (both of which use underscores to 
 represent attributes that are not set) and send that string back to 
 ATTRIB to set attributes for other files.  For example, to clear the 
 attributes of FILE2 and then set its attributes to match those of FILE1 
 (enter this on one line): 

 
         [c:\] attrib -arhs file2 & attrib +%@attrib[file1] file2
 

 Options 

    /A::    (Attribute select) Select only those files that have the 
            specified attribute(s) set.  Preceding the attribute character 
            with a hyphen [-] will select files that do not have that 
            attribute set.  The colon [:] after /A is required.  The 
            attributes are: 

               R  Read-only 
               H  Hidden 
               S  System 
               D  Subdirectory 
               A  Archive 
 

 If no attributes are listed at all (e.g., ATTRIB /A: ...), ATTRIB will 
 select all files and subdirectories including hidden and system files. 
  If attributes are combined, all the specified attributes must match for 
 a file to be selected. For example, /A:RHS will select only those files 
 with all three attributes set. 

 The /A: switch specifies which files to select, not which attributes to 
 set.  For example, to remove the archive attribute from all hidden files, 
 you could use this command: 

 
         [c:\] attrib /a:h -a *.*
 

 /D:(Directories) If you use the /D option, ATTRIB will modify the 
 attributes of subdirectories in addition to files (yes, you can have a 
 hidden subdirectory): 

 
         [c:\] attrib /d +h c:\mydir
 

 If you use a directory name instead of a file name, and omit /D, ATTRIB 
 will append "\*.*" to the end of the name and act on all files in that 
 directory, rather than acting on the directory itself. /E:(No error 
 messages) Suppress all non-fatal error messages, such as "File Not 
 Found."  Fatal error messages, such as "Drive not ready," will still be 
 displayed.  This option is most useful in batch files and aliases. 
 /P:(Pause) Wait for a key to be pressed after each screen page before 
 continuing the display.  Your options at the prompt are explained in 
 detail under Page and File Prompts. /Q:(Quiet) This option turns off 
 ATTRIB's normal screen output. It is most useful in batch files. 
 /S:(Subdirectories) If you use the /S option, the ATTRIB command will be 
 applied to all matching files in the current or named directory and all 
 of its subdirectories.