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ATTRIB
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<h2 id="history">History</h2> <p>Several <a href="/facts/Operating_system/8XTuvMh2">operating systems</a> provided a set of modifiable file characteristics that could be accessed and changed through a low-level <a href="/facts/System_call/NW44AFJr">system call</a>. For example, as of release <a href="/facts/MS-DOS/fVrrz1uN">MS-DOS</a> 4.0, the first six <a href="/facts/Bit/S972NSaD">bits</a> of the file attribute <a href="/facts/Byte/BNHUp9Qq">byte</a> indicated whether or not a file was read-only (as opposed to writeable), hidden, a system file, a volume label, a subdirectory, or if the file had been "archived" (with the bit being set if the file had changed since the last use of the <a href="/facts/List_of_DOS_commands/d72UqhJ3">BACKUP</a> command).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> However, initial releases of the operating system did not provide user-level method for reading or changing these values.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p><p>The initial version of the ATTRIB command for DOS was first included in version 3.0 of <a href="/facts/IBM_PC_DOS/ScsfqAwQ">PC DOS</a>, with functionality limited to changing the read-only attribute.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> Subsequent versions allowed the read-only, hidden, system and archive bits to be set.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> <a href="/facts/MS-DOS/fVrrz1uN">MS-DOS</a> version 3.3 added the capability of recursive searching through subdirectories to display attributes of specified files.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> </p><p><a href="/facts/Digital_Research/9bYQl2pI">Digital Research</a> <a href="/facts/DR_DOS_6.0/GcCTKutW">DR DOS 6.0</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> and <a href="/facts/Datalight/I6X8HJNC">Datalight</a> <a href="/facts/ROM-DOS/I6X8HJNC">ROM-DOS</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> also include an implementation of the ATTRIB command. </p><p>The <a href="/facts/FreeDOS/61fuGd0j">FreeDOS</a> version was developed by Phil Brutsche and is licensed under the <a href="/facts/GPLv2/S75KhLSX">GPLv2</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="uses">Uses</h2> <p>Setting the read-only bit of a file provided only partial protection against inadvertent deletion: while commands such as <a href="/facts/Del_(command)/8wLW0H0k">del</a> and <a href="/facts/Del_(command)/8wLW0H0k">erase</a> would respect the attribute, other commands such as <a href="/facts/DELTREE/V1JjGh7f">DELTREE</a> did not.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> Changing the system attribute was not possible in early versions of Windows, thus requiring use of ATTRIB.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> Similarly, a system crash in early versions of Windows could lead to a situation where a temporary file had the read-only bit set and was additionally (and irrevocably) locked by the Windows OS; in this instance, booting into DOS (thus avoiding the Windows lock) and unsetting the read-only attribute with ATTRIB was the recommended way of deleting the file.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a> Manipulating the archive bit allowed users to control which files were backed up using the BACKUP command.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Chattr/HHLsJqbA">chattr</a>, the equivalent on Unix and Linux</li> <li><a href="/facts/Cacls/6x6KPPum">cacls</a>, the Windows NT <a href="/facts/Access_control_list/t38J9Vao">access control list</a> (ACL) utility</li> <li><a href="/facts/List_of_DOS_commands/d72UqhJ3">List of DOS commands</a></li></ul> <h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2> <ul><li>Cooper, Jim (2001). <i>Special Edition Using MS-DOS 6.22, Third Edition</i>. <a href="/facts/Que_Publishing/UNq9rds8">Que Publishing</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0789725738.</li> <li>Dyson, Peter (1995). <i>Mastering OS/2 Warp</i>. <a href="/facts/Sybex/53g3LqJc">Sybex</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0782116632.</li> <li>John Paul Mueller (2007). <i>Windows Administration at the Command Line for Windows Vista, Windows 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000</i>. <a href="/facts/Wiley_(publisher)/53g3LqJc">John Wiley & Sons</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0470165799.</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> Wikibooks has a book on the topic of: <i>Guide to Windows Commands</i> <ul><li><a href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/attrib">attrib | Microsoft Docs</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.computerhope.com/attribhl.htm">Microsoft DOS ATTRIB command</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>ISIS II Users Guide <a href="http://bitsavers.org/pdf/intel/ISIS_II/9800306-06_ISIS-II_Users_Guide_May81.pdf" target="_blank">http://bitsavers.org/pdf/intel/ISIS_II/9800306-06_ISIS-II_Users_Guide_May81.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"JaTomes Help - OS/2 Commands". Archived from the original on 2019-04-14. Retrieved 2019-07-27. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190414130029/http://www.jatomes.com/Help/Os2Cmd.php#ATTRIB" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20190414130029/http://www.jatomes.com/Help/Os2Cmd.php#ATTRIB</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Microsoft TechNet Attrib article <a href="https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb490868" target="_blank">https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb490868</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>reactos/attrib.c at master · reactos/reactos · GitHub <a href="https://github.com/reactos/reactos/blob/master/base/applications/cmdutils/attrib/attrib.c" target="_blank">https://github.com/reactos/reactos/blob/master/base/applications/cmdutils/attrib/attrib.c</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"EFI Shells and Scripting". Intel. Retrieved 2013-09-25. <a href="http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/efi-shells-and-scripting/" target="_blank">http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/efi-shells-and-scripting/</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>IBM Disk Operating System Version 4.00 Technical Reference (1st ed.). July 1988. p. 3:5. <a href="https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_ibmpcdos15lReferenceJul88_10507385" target="_blank">https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_ibmpcdos15lReferenceJul88_10507385</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Petzold, Charles (June 10, 1986). "Changing DOS File Attributes". PC Magazine. pp. 249–262. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=pDGnxFyejN4C&pg=PA249" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=pDGnxFyejN4C&pg=PA249</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Petzold, Charles (June 10, 1986). "Changing DOS File Attributes". PC Magazine. pp. 249–262. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=pDGnxFyejN4C&pg=PA249" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=pDGnxFyejN4C&pg=PA249</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"DOS Attrib". Encyclopedia. PC Magazine. Archived from the original on 2012-03-02. Retrieved 2007-08-02. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120302041859/http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0%2C2542%2Ct%3DDOS+Attrib%26i%3D41730%2C00.asp" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20120302041859/http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0%2C2542%2Ct%3DDOS+Attrib%26i%3D41730%2C00.asp</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"Using ATTRIB, CHKDSK, or DIR Command to Locate Files". Microsoft. Archived from the original on 2014-09-01. Retrieved 2017-11-01. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20140901130931/http://support.microsoft.com/kb/89727" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20140901130931/http://support.microsoft.com/kb/89727</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>"DR DOS 6.0 User Guide Optimisation and Configuration Tips" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-09-30. Retrieved 2019-08-13. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190930135943/http://www.4corn.co.uk/archive/docs/DR%20DOS%206.0%20User%20Guide-opt.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20190930135943/http://www.4corn.co.uk/archive/docs/DR%20DOS%206.0%20User%20Guide-opt.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>"Datalight ROM-DOS User's Guide" (PDF). www.datalight.com. <a href="https://www.datalight.com/assets/files/ROM-DOS_Users_Guide.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.datalight.com/assets/files/ROM-DOS_Users_Guide.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>"FreeDOS 1.2 Updates Package - attrib (FreeDOS Base)". Ibiblio.org. 2003-07-01. Retrieved 2022-09-08. <a href="http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/micro/pc-stuff/freedos/files/distributions/1.2/repos/pkg-html/attrib.html" target="_blank">http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/micro/pc-stuff/freedos/files/distributions/1.2/repos/pkg-html/attrib.html</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>O'Reilly, Tim; Mott, Troy; Glenn, Walter J. (1999). Windows 98 in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference. O'Reilly. pp. 303–306. ISBN 1-56592-486-X. <a href="1-56592-486-X" target="_blank">1-56592-486-X</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>O'Reilly, Tim; Mott, Troy; Glenn, Walter J. (1999). Windows 98 in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference. O'Reilly. pp. 303–306. ISBN 1-56592-486-X. <a href="1-56592-486-X" target="_blank">1-56592-486-X</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>Jones, James G.; Landes, Craig (2003). A+ Exam Cram 2: Windows 2000 Directory Services Infrastructure. Que. pp. 309–310. ISBN 0-7897-2867-2. <a href="0-7897-2867-2" target="_blank">0-7897-2867-2</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>Petzold, Charles (June 10, 1986). "Changing DOS File Attributes". PC Magazine. pp. 249–262. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=pDGnxFyejN4C&pg=PA249" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=pDGnxFyejN4C&pg=PA249</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>