| Platform SDK: Files and I/O |
The GetFileAttributes function retrieves attributes for a specified file or directory.
This function retrieves a set of FAT-style attribute information. The GetFileAttributesEx function can obtain other sets of file or directory attribute information.
DWORD GetFileAttributes( LPCTSTR lpFileName // name of file or directory );
Windows NT/2000: In the ANSI version of this function, the name is limited to MAX_PATH characters. To extend this limit to nearly 32,000 wide characters, call the Unicode version of the function and prepend "\\?\" to the path. For more information, see File Name Conventions.
Windows 95/98: This string must not exceed MAX_PATH characters.
If the function succeeds, the return value contains the attributes of the specified file or directory.
If the function fails, the return value is -1. To get extended error information, call GetLastError.
The attributes can be one or more of the following values.
| Attribute | Meaning |
|---|---|
| FILE_ATTRIBUTE_ARCHIVE | The file or directory is an archive file or directory. Applications use this attribute to mark files for backup or removal. |
| FILE_ATTRIBUTE_COMPRESSED | The file or directory is compressed. For a file, this means that all of the data in the file is compressed. For a directory, this means that compression is the default for newly created files and subdirectories. |
| FILE_ATTRIBUTE_DEVICE | Reserved; do not use. |
| FILE_ATTRIBUTE_DIRECTORY | The handle identifies a directory. |
| FILE_ATTRIBUTE_ENCRYPTED | The file or directory is encrypted. For a file, this means that all data streams in the file are encrypted. For a directory, this means that encryption is the default for newly created files and subdirectories. |
| FILE_ATTRIBUTE_HIDDEN | The file or directory is hidden. It is not included in an ordinary directory listing. |
| FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL | The file or directory has no other attributes set. This attribute is valid only if used alone. |
| FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NOT_CONTENT_INDEXED | The file will not be indexed by the content indexing service. |
| FILE_ATTRIBUTE_OFFLINE | The data of the file is not immediately available. This attribute indicates that the file data has been physically moved to offline storage. This attribute is used by Remote Storage, the hierarchical storage management software in Windows 2000. Applications should not arbitrarily change this attribute. |
| FILE_ATTRIBUTE_READONLY | The file or directory is read-only. Applications can read the file but cannot write to it or delete it. In the case of a directory, applications cannot delete it. |
| FILE_ATTRIBUTE_REPARSE_POINT | The file has an associated reparse point. |
| FILE_ATTRIBUTE_SPARSE_FILE | The file is a sparse file. |
| FILE_ATTRIBUTE_SYSTEM | The file or directory is part of, or is used exclusively by, the operating system. |
| FILE_ATTRIBUTE_TEMPORARY | The file is being used for temporary storage. File systems attempt to keep all of the data in memory for quicker access rather than flushing the data back to mass storage. A temporary file should be deleted by the application as soon as it is no longer needed. |
When GetFileAttributes is called on a directory containing a volume mount point, the file attributes returned are those of the directory where the volume mount point is set, not those of the root directory in the target mounted volume. To obtain the file attributes of the mounted volume, call GetVolumeNameForVolumeMountPoint to obtain the name of the target volume. Then use the resulting name in a call to GetFileAttributes. The results will be the attributes of the root directory on the target volume.
MAPI: For more information, see Syntax and Limitations for Win32 Functions Useful in MAPI Development.
Windows NT/2000: Requires Windows NT 3.1 or later.
Windows 95/98: Requires Windows 95 or later.
Header: Declared in Winbase.h; include Windows.h.
Library: Use Kernel32.lib.
Unicode: Implemented as Unicode and ANSI versions on Windows NT/2000.
File I/O Overview, File I/O Functions, DeviceIoControl, FindFirstFile, FindNextFile, GetFileAttributesEx, SetFileAttributes