Retrieves file system attributes for a specified file or directory.
To get more attribute information, use the
GetFileAttributesEx function.
To perform this operation as a transacted operation, use the
GetFileAttributesTransacted function.
Syntax
DWORD WINAPI GetFileAttributes(
__in LPCTSTR lpFileName
);
Parameters
- lpFileName [in]
-
The name of the file or directory.
In the ANSI version of this function, the name is limited to MAX_PATH characters.
To extend this limit to 32,767 wide characters, call the Unicode version of the function and prepend
"\\?\" to the path. For more information, see
Naming a File.
Return Value
If the function succeeds, the return value contains the attributes of the specified file or directory.
If the function fails, the return value is INVALID_FILE_ATTRIBUTES. To get extended
error information, call GetLastError.
The attributes can be one or more of the following values.
| Return code/value | Description |
|---|
- FILE_ATTRIBUTE_ARCHIVE
- 32 (0x20)
| A file or directory that is an archive file or directory.
Applications use this attribute to mark files for backup or removal.
|
- FILE_ATTRIBUTE_COMPRESSED
- 2048 (0x800)
| A file or directory that is compressed.
For a file, all of the data in the file is compressed.
For a directory, compression is the default for newly created files and subdirectories.
|
- FILE_ATTRIBUTE_DEVICE
- 64 (0x40)
| Reserved; do not use.
|
- FILE_ATTRIBUTE_DIRECTORY
- 16 (0x10)
| The handle that identifies a directory.
|
- FILE_ATTRIBUTE_ENCRYPTED
- 16384 (0x4000)
| A file or directory that is encrypted.
For a file, all data streams in the file are encrypted.
For a directory, encryption is the default for newly created files and subdirectories.
|
- FILE_ATTRIBUTE_HIDDEN
- 2 (0x2)
| The file or directory is hidden. It is not included in an ordinary directory listing.
|
- FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL
- 128 (0x80)
| A file or directory that does not have other attributes set.
This attribute is valid only when used alone.
|
- FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NOT_CONTENT_INDEXED
- 8192 (0x2000)
| The file is not to be indexed by the content indexing service.
|
- FILE_ATTRIBUTE_OFFLINE
- 4096 (0x1000)
| The data of a file is not available immediately.
This attribute indicates that the file data is physically moved to offline storage. This attribute is used
by Remote Storage, which is the hierarchical storage management software. Applications should not arbitrarily
change this attribute.
|
- FILE_ATTRIBUTE_READONLY
- 1 (0x1)
| A file that is read-only.
Applications can read the file, but cannot write to it or delete it.
This attribute is not honored on directories. For more information, see "You cannot view or change the Read-only or the System attributes of folders in Windows Server 2003, in Windows XP, or in Windows Vista".
|
- FILE_ATTRIBUTE_REPARSE_POINT
- 1024 (0x400)
| A file or directory that has an associated reparse point, or a file that is a symbolic link.
|
- FILE_ATTRIBUTE_SPARSE_FILE
- 512 (0x200)
| A file that is a sparse file.
|
- FILE_ATTRIBUTE_SYSTEM
- 4 (0x4)
| A file or directory that the operating system uses a part of, or uses exclusively.
|
- FILE_ATTRIBUTE_TEMPORARY
- 256 (0x100)
| A file that is being used for temporary storage.
File systems avoid writing data back to mass storage if sufficient cache memory is available, because
typically, an application deletes a temporary file after the handle is closed. In that scenario, the system
can entirely avoid writing the data. Otherwise, the data is written after the handle is closed.
|
- FILE_ATTRIBUTE_VIRTUAL
- 65536 (0x10000)
| A file is a virtual file.
|
Remarks
When GetFileAttributes is called on a directory
that is a mounted folder, it returns the file system attributes of the directory, not those of the root directory in the volume that the mounted folder associates with the directory. To obtain the file attributes of the associated volume, call
GetVolumeNameForVolumeMountPoint to
obtain the name of the associated volume. Then use the resulting name in a call to
GetFileAttributes. The results are the attributes of
the root directory on the associated volume.
If you call GetFileAttributes for a network share,
the function fails, and GetLastError returns
ERROR_BAD_NETPATH. You must specify a path to a subfolder on that share.
Symbolic link behavior—If the path points to a symbolic link, the function returns
attributes for the symbolic link.
Transacted Operations
If a file is open for modification in a transaction, no other thread can open the file for modification until
the transaction is committed. So if a transacted thread opens the file first, any subsequent threads that try
modifying the file before the transaction is committed receives a sharing violation. If a non-transacted thread
modifies the file before the transacted thread does, and the file is still open when the transaction attempts to
open it, the transaction receives the error ERROR_TRANSACTIONAL_CONFLICT.
Examples
For an example, see
Retrieving and Changing File Attributes.
Requirements
| Minimum supported client | Windows 2000 Professional |
|---|
| Minimum supported server | Windows 2000 Server |
|---|
| Header | WinBase.h (include Windows.h) |
|---|
| Library | Kernel32.lib |
|---|
| DLL | Kernel32.dll |
|---|
| Unicode and ANSI names | GetFileAttributesW (Unicode) and GetFileAttributesA (ANSI) |
|---|
See Also
- DeviceIoControl
- File Management Functions
- FindFirstFile
- FindNextFile
- GetFileAttributesEx
- GetFileAttributesTransacted
- SetFileAttributes
- Symbolic Links
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Build date: 6/25/2009