Definition of Attrib Command
There are four attributes in Windows files:
- (r) Read-only file attribute
- (a) Archive file attribute
- (s) System file attribute
- (h) Hidden file attribute
One or more of these attributes can be set or cleared in a single instance of the command for a specific file, file type, folder or and entire branch of the directory structure (a directory, including all sub-directories). There are three optional switches that can be applied at the end of the DOS command string, although not all switches are recognized for all versions of Windows. These switches are:
- /S also apply changes to subdirectories of current directory
- /D also apply changes to folder names (this only applies for Windows 2000 and Windows XP)
- /L apply to symbolic link itself instead of the target of the symbolic link (introduced with Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008)
The general attrib command syntax is:
-
- attrib filename
For example, to remove the read-only and hidden file attributes for all files in a directory tree:
-
- attrib -r -h *.* /s /d
Note, the -s parameter will also remove the system attribute for files and should always be used with care and should not be used for genuine system files.
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