{"id":15791,"date":"2011-01-26T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2011-01-26T00:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.technet.microsoft.com\/heyscriptingguy\/2011\/01\/26\/use-a-powershell-cmdlet-to-work-with-file-attributes\/"},"modified":"2011-01-26T00:01:00","modified_gmt":"2011-01-26T00:01:00","slug":"use-a-powershell-cmdlet-to-work-with-file-attributes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/use-a-powershell-cmdlet-to-work-with-file-attributes\/","title":{"rendered":"Use a PowerShell Cmdlet to Work with File Attributes"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

Summary<\/b>: Learn how to use the Windows PowerShell cmdlet Set-ItemProperty to work with file attributes.<\/p>\n

\"Hey, Hey, Scripting Guy! I often find myself working with file attributes. Our backup program reads the archive flag, and our users are always creating read-only copies of their spreadsheets. I have an old VBScript script that will manipulate file attributes, but I am surprised that Windows PowerShell does not do this. It seems like it should be simple to have a Set-FileAttribute<\/b> Windows PowerShell cmdlet, but unfortunately it does not seem to exist.<\/p>\n

— AD<\/p>\n

\"Hey, Hello AD,<\/p>\n

Microsoft Scripting Guy Ed Wilson here. One of the cool things about being in Florida during the winter is actually a warm thing. Today, it is 71 degrees Fahrenheit (21.6 degrees Celsius according to my conversion module<\/a>), and it is sunny. It was such a lovely day that Dr. Scripto decided to head down to the harbor to watch the boats coming in and out.<\/p>\n

\"Image<\/a><\/p>\n

AD, I will leave Dr. Scripto at the waterfront to work on his tan (he really needs to get out more), and I will tackle your question. In September of last year, I wrote How Can I Unlock a Read-Only File, Edit it, and Make it Read-Only Again<\/a>? In that post, which was awesome, I worked specifically with the read-only attribute. In this article, I will look at a different way of working with file attributes.<\/p>\n

AD, you said you wish that Windows PowerShell had a Set-FileAttribute<\/b> cmdlet. In fact, it does. It is called Set-ItemProperty<\/b>. Most people use the Set-ItemProperty<\/b> cmdlet when working with the registry provider, but the Set-ItemProperty<\/b> can work with any provider that provides access to item properties. I use the Get-PSProvider<\/b> cmdlet to detail the Windows PowerShell providers that are currently available to me on my laptop. If I load additional modules or snap-ins, it is possible that additional providers are exposed. Therefore, it is always a good idea to use Get-PSProvider<\/b> after loading a module or snap-in. The results of Get-PSProvider<\/b> with no snap-ins or modules loaded appears here:<\/p>\n

\n

PS C:\\> Get-PSProvider<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Name                 <\/span>Capabilities                            <\/span>Drives<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

—-                 <\/span>————                            <\/span>——<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

WSMan                <\/span>Credentials                             <\/span>{WSMan}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Alias                <\/span>ShouldProcess                           <\/span>{Alias}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Environment          <\/span>ShouldProcess                           <\/span>{Env}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

FileSystem           <\/span>Filter, ShouldProcess                   <\/span>{C, D}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Function             <\/span>ShouldProcess                       <\/span>    <\/span>{Function}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Registry             <\/span>ShouldProcess, Transactions             <\/span>{HKLM, HKCU}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Variable             <\/span>ShouldProcess                           <\/span>{Variable}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Certificate          <\/span>ShouldProcess                           <\/span>{cert}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PS C:\\><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The FileSystem<\/b> <\/i>provider works with my C and D drives. To find out what types of item properties are available, I use the Get-ItemProperty<\/b> to retrieve a file from my FSO folder. The syntax of the command is Get-ItemProperty<\/b> and the path to the file. The command and its associated output appear here:<\/p>\n

\n

PS C:\\> Get-ItemProperty -Path C:\\fso\\a.txt<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    <\/span><\/span>Directory: C:\\fso<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Mode                <\/span>LastWriteTime     <\/span>Length Name<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

—-                <\/span>————-     <\/span>—— —-<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

-a—        <\/span>12\/17\/2010   <\/span>5:08 PM          <\/span>0 a.txt<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PS C:\\><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This is the top-level view of the item properties of the file. To view all of the information that is available, I pipe the results to the Format-List<\/b> cmdlet, and use the force. This command appears here:<\/p>\n

\n

PS C:\\> Get-ItemProperty -Path C:\\fso\\a.txt | Format-list -Property * -Force<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PSPath            <\/span>: Microsoft.PowerShell.Core\\FileSystem::C:\\fso\\a.txt<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PSParentPath      <\/span>: Microsoft.PowerShell.Core\\FileSystem::C:\\fso<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PSChildName       <\/span>: a.txt<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PSDrive           <\/span>: C<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PSProvider        <\/span>: Microsoft.PowerShell.Core\\FileSystem<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

VersionInfo       <\/span>: File:             <\/span>C:\\fso\\a.txt<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

                    <\/span><\/span>InternalName:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

                    <\/span><\/span>OriginalFilename:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

                    <\/span><\/span>FileVersion:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

                    <\/span><\/span>FileDescription:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

                    <\/span><\/span>Product:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

                    <\/span><\/span>ProductVersion:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

                    <\/span><\/span>Debug:            <\/span>False<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

                    <\/span><\/span>Patched:          <\/span>False<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

                    <\/span><\/span>PreRelease:       <\/span>False<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

                    <\/span><\/span>PrivateBuild:     <\/span>False<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

                    <\/span><\/span>SpecialBuild:     <\/span>False<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

                    <\/span><\/span>Language:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

BaseName          <\/span>: a<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Mode              <\/span>: -a—<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Name              <\/span>: a.txt<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Length            <\/span>: 0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

DirectoryName     <\/span>: C:\\fso<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Directory         <\/span>: C:\\fso<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

IsReadOnly        <\/span>: False<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Exists            <\/span>: True<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

FullName          <\/span>: C:\\fso\\a.txt<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Extension         <\/span>: .txt<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

CreationTime      <\/span>: 8\/17\/2009 9:28:43 AM<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

CreationTimeUtc   <\/span>: 8\/17\/2009 1:28:43 PM<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

LastAccessTime    <\/span>: 8\/22\/2009 6:13:01 PM<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

LastAccessTimeUtc : 8\/22\/2009 10:13:01 PM<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

LastWriteTime     <\/span>: 12\/17\/2010 5:08:38 PM<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

LastWriteTimeUtc  <\/span>: 12\/17\/2010 10:08:38 PM<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Attributes        <\/span>: Archive<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PS C:\\><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Okay, that provides a lot of information, but it does not tell me if I can write to the item properties or not. To see this information, I need to use the Get-Member<\/b> cmdlet. In the place of the previous Format-List<\/b> command, I use Get-Member<\/b>. Because I am only interested in properties, I use the membertype<\/b> parameter and specify property<\/b>. The revised command and its associated output appear here:<\/p>\n

\n

PS C:\\> Get-ItemProperty -Path C:\\fso\\a.txt | Get-Member -MemberType property<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

   <\/span><\/span>TypeName: System.IO.FileInfo<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Name              <\/span>MemberType Definition<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

—-              <\/span>———- ———-<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Attributes        <\/span>Property   <\/span>System.IO.FileAttributes Attributes {get;set;}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

CreationTime      <\/span>Property   <\/span>System.DateTime CreationTime {get;set;}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

CreationTimeUtc   <\/span>Property   <\/span>System.DateTime CreationTimeUtc {get;set;}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Directory         <\/span>Property   <\/span>System.IO.DirectoryInfo Directory {get;}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

DirectoryName     <\/span>Property   <\/span>System.String DirectoryName {get;}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Exists            <\/span>Property   <\/span>System.Boolean Exists {get;}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Extension         <\/span>Property   <\/span>System.String Extension {get;}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

FullName          <\/span>Property   <\/span>System.String FullName {get;}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

IsReadOnly        <\/span>Property   <\/span>System.Boolean IsReadOnly {get;set;}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

LastAccessTime    <\/span>Property   <\/span>System.DateTime LastAccessTime {get;set;}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

LastAccessTimeUtc Property   <\/span>System.DateTime LastAccessTimeUtc {get;set;}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

LastWriteTime     <\/span>Property   <\/span>System.DateTime LastWriteTime {get;set;}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

LastWriteTimeUtc  <\/span>Property   <\/span>System.DateTime LastWriteTimeUtc {get;set;}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Length            <\/span>Property   <\/span>System.Int64 Length {get;}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Name              <\/span>Property   <\/span>System.String Name {get;}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PS C:\\><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

That is what I was looking for. Notice that in the definition column some of the properties such as Attributes<\/b> are listed as {get;set;}<\/b> and others such as Directory<\/b> are listed as {get;}<\/b>. Well, if a property is get;set<\/b> then it is read-write–in other words, I can modify the value. If a property is only get<\/b>, it is read-only.<\/p>\n

The other thing that is useful from the Definition column is the data type that the property accepts. For example, the CreationTime<\/b> property accepts a System.DateTime<\/b> object. (I have written a number of posts about working with dates and times in Windows PowerShell<\/a> on the Hey, Scripting Guy! Blog.) I can obtain a System.DateTime<\/b> object from the Get-Date<\/b> cmdlet as shown here:<\/p>\n

\n

PS C:\\> (Get-Date).gettype()<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

IsPublic IsSerial Name                                     <\/span>BaseType<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

——– ——– —-                                     <\/span>——–<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

True     <\/span>True     <\/span>DateTime                     <\/span>            <\/span>System.ValueType<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PS C:\\><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

On the other hand, the Attributes<\/b> property accepts an enumeration value called System.Io.FileAttributes<\/b> (I have written a number of Hey, Scripting Guy! Blog posts about working with enumerations<\/a> as well.) To see the enumeration values from System.Io.FileAttributes<\/b>, I can place the class name in square brackets and use Get-Member<\/b>, as shown here:<\/p>\n

\n

PS C:\\> [System.Io.FileAttributes] | Get-Member -Static -MemberType property<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

   <\/span><\/span>TypeName: System.IO.FileAttributes<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Name              <\/span>MemberType Definition<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

—-              <\/span>———- ———-<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Archive      <\/span>     <\/span>Property   <\/span>static System.IO.FileAttributes Archive {get;}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Compressed        <\/span>Property   <\/span>static System.IO.FileAttributes Compressed {get;}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Device            <\/span>Property   <\/span>static System.IO.FileAttributes Device {get;}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Directory         <\/span>Property   <\/span>static System.IO.FileAttributes Directory {get;}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Encrypted         <\/span>Property   <\/span>static System.IO.FileAttributes Encrypted {get;}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Hidden            <\/span>Property   <\/span>static System.IO.FileAttributes Hidden {get;}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Normal            <\/span>Property   <\/span>static System.IO.FileAttributes Normal {get;}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

NotContentIndexed Property   <\/span>static System.IO.FileAttributes NotContentIndexed {get;}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Offline           <\/span>Property   <\/span>static System.IO.FileAttributes Offline {get;}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

ReadOnly          <\/span>Property   <\/span>static System.IO.FileAttributes ReadOnly {get;}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

ReparsePoint      <\/span>Property   <\/span>static System.IO.FileAttributes ReparsePoint {get;}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

SparseFile        <\/span>Property   <\/span>static System.IO.FileAttributes SparseFile {get;}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

System            <\/span>Property   <\/span>static System.IO.FileAttributes System {get;}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Temporary         <\/span>Property   <\/span>static System.IO.FileAttributes Temporary {get;}<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PS C:\\><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I can also use the static GetValues<\/b> method from the system.enum<\/b> .NET Framework class (I can leave off the word system<\/i> when calling the class). This appears here:<\/p>\n

\n

PS C:\\> [enum]::GetValues([system.io.fileattributes])<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

ReadOnly<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Hidden<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

System<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Directory<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Archive<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Device<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Normal<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Temporary<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

SparseFile<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

ReparsePoint<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Compressed<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Offline<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

NotContentIndexed<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Encrypted<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PS C:\\><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If I want to see the specific value associated with a particular enumeration value, I use the value__<\/b> property (keep in mind that is a double underscore at the end of the word value<\/i>). This technique appears here:<\/p>\n

\n

PS C:\\> [system.io.fileattributes]::ReadOnly.Value__<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

1<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PS C:\\><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Using the Get-EnumValues<\/b> function from my Enumerations and Values Weekend Scripter post<\/a>, I obtain the following list of enumerations and their associated values.<\/p>\n

\n

Name                           <\/span>Value<\/span>                                                                <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

—-                           <\/span>—–                                             <\/span><\/span>                   <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Offline                        <\/span>4096<\/span>                                                                 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

NotContentIndexed              <\/span>8192<\/span>                                                                 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Device                         <\/span>64 <\/span>                                                                  <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Directory                      <\/span>16<\/span>                                                                   <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Normal                         <\/span>128                                                      <\/span><\/span>            <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

ReparsePoint                   <\/span>1024<\/span>                                                                 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Archive                        <\/span>32<\/span>                                                                   <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Encrypted                      <\/span>16384     <\/span><\/span>                                                           <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

SparseFile                     <\/span>512<\/span>                                                                  <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

System                         <\/span>4                                                               <\/span><\/span>     <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Temporary                      <\/span>256<\/span>                                                                  <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Hidden                         <\/span>2<\/span>                                                                    <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

ReadOnly                       <\/span>1                <\/span><\/span>                                                    <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Compressed                     <\/span>2048<\/span>    <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ok, so far so good. If the attributes were stored as a hash table or as an array, things would be easy. Alas, they are not. They are stored as an old-fashioned bitmask value.<\/p>\n

Therefore, to work with them, we need to use old-fashioned techniques, such as the sort thing you learned when you were taking Boolean algebra back at the university. If you are little rusty on your Boolean algebra, you may want to refer to this Hey, Scripting Guy! Blog<\/a> post. It is sort of like the Karate Kid<\/a> and “wax on, wax off” only different.<\/p>\n

To determine if a file is read-only or not, I need to perform a bitwise AND operation. Therefore, I will use the –BAND operator. Let’s see how that would work out. The file attributes of the a.txt file are ReadOnly<\/b> and Archive<\/b>. This is shown here:<\/p>\n

\n

PS C:\\> (Get-ItemProperty -Path C:\\fso\\a.txt).attributes<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

ReadOnly, Archive<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PS C:\\><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I want to know what that value is so that I can use the Value__<\/b> property. However, I also want to know what that value is in binary, so I will use the [convert]<\/b> class. This technique appears here:<\/p>\n

\n

PS C:\\> (Get-ItemProperty -Path C:\\fso\\a.txt).attributes.Value__<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

33<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PS C:\\> [convert]::ToString(33,2)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

100001<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PS C:\\><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Everywhere a file attribute is turned on, a 1 appears. Therefore, the value 32 (archive) appears in the sixth position, and read-only (value of 1) appears in the first position. This behaves in a similar way that figuring out subnet masks works. In the table following this paragraph, the first row is the decimal value of the position. In the second row, is the binary representation of the number 33 that I obtained by using the convert<\/b> class earlier. In the second row, notice there is a 1 in the 32 column, and a 1 in the 1 column. The third row is the binary value of the number 1 (the value of the read-only enumeration). The fourth row represents the results of performing a binary AND (BAND) operation. When performing a Binary AND operation, the rules are thus: 1 –BAND 1 = 1, 1 –BAND 0 = 0, 0 –BAND 0 = 0.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

128<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

64<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

32<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

16<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

8<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

4<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

2<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

1<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

1<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

1<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

1<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

1<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

I can use this information to determine if a file has the archive bit or the read-only bit set. This is illustrated here:<\/p>\n

\n

PS C:\\> (Get-ItemProperty C:\\fso\\a.txt).attributes -band [io.fileattributes]::Archive<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

32<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PS C:\\> (Get-ItemProperty C:\\fso\\a.txt).attributes -band [io.fileattributes]::ReadOnly<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

1<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PS C:\\><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

AD, that is all there is to using Set-ItemProperty<\/b> to retrieve file attributes. Neglected Cmdlet Week will continue tomorrow when I will talk about using Set-ItemProperty<\/b> to modify file attributes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I invite you to follow me on Twitter<\/a> and Facebook<\/a>. If you have any questions, send email to me at scripter@microsoft.com<\/a>, or post your questions on the Official Scripting Guys Forum<\/a>. See you tomorrow. Until then, peace.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ed Wilson, Microsoft Scripting Guy<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Summary: Learn how to use the Windows PowerShell cmdlet Set-ItemProperty to work with file attributes. Hey, Scripting Guy! I often find myself working with file attributes. Our backup program reads the archive flag, and our users are always creating read-only copies of their spreadsheets. I have an old VBScript script that will manipulate file […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":595,"featured_media":87096,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[38,51,3,4,12,45],"class_list":["post-15791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-scripting","tag-files","tag-getting-started","tag-scripting-guy","tag-scripting-techniques","tag-storage","tag-windows-powershell"],"acf":[],"blog_post_summary":"

  Summary: Learn how to use the Windows PowerShell cmdlet Set-ItemProperty to work with file attributes. Hey, Scripting Guy! I often find myself working with file attributes. Our backup program reads the archive flag, and our users are always creating read-only copies of their spreadsheets. I have an old VBScript script that will manipulate file […]<\/p>\n","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/595"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}