GetFileAttributes

The GetFileAttributes function returns attributes for a specified file or directory. 

DWORD GetFileAttributes(
  LPCTSTR lpFileName   // pointer to the name of a file or directory
);

Parameters

lpFileName
Pointer to a null-terminated string that specifies the name of a file or directory.
Windows NT:
There is a default string size limit for paths of MAX_PATH characters. This limit is related to how the GetFileAttributes function parses paths. An application can transcend this limit and send in paths longer than MAX_PATH characters by calling the wide (W) version of GetFileAttributes and prepending "\\?\" to the path. The "\\?\" tells the function to turn off path parsing; it lets paths longer than MAX_PATH be used with GetFileAttributesW. However, each component in the path cannot be more than MAX_PATH characters long. This also works with UNC names. The "\\?\" is ignored as part of the path. For example, "\\?\C:\myworld\private" is seen as "C:\myworld\private", and "\\?\UNC\bill_g_1\hotstuff\coolapps" is seen as "\\bill_g_1\hotstuff\coolapps".
Windows 95:
The lpFileName string must not exceed MAX_PATH characters. Windows 95 does not support the "\\?\" prefix.

Return Values

If the function succeeds, the return value contains the attributes of the specified file or directory.

If the function fails, the return value is 0xFFFFFFFF. 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_DIRECTORY The handle identifies a directory.
FILE_ATTRIBUTE_ENCRYPTED The file or directory is encrypted. For a file, this means that all data streams 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_OFFLINE The data of the file is not immediately available. Indicates that the file data has been physically moved to offline storage.
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.

Remarks

Windows CE: Windows CE supports the following additional return values:

FILE_ATTRIBUTE_INROM
This file is an operating system file stored in ROM. These files are read-only; they cannot be modified.
FILE_ATTRIBUTE_ROMMODULE
This file is an operating system file stored in ROM, designed to execute in place. In other words, code from this file is executed directly from ROM, rather than being first copied to RAM. The CreateFile function cannot be used to access this file, instead the LoadLibrary and CreateProcess functions must be used.

QuickInfo

  Windows NT: Requires version 3.1 or later.
  Windows: Requires Windows 95 or later.
  Windows CE: Requires version 1.0 or later.
  Header: Declared in winbase.h.
  Import Library: Use kernel32.lib.
  Unicode: Implemented as Unicode and ANSI versions on Windows NT.

See Also

File I/O Overview, File Functions, DeviceIoControl, FindFirstFile, FindNextFile, SetFileAttributes