Description
Use the ChangeAttributes method to set, clear or invert the file system attributes of a file or folder. To check whether a file or folder has certain attribute(s), use the aqFileSystem.CheckAttributes method.
Declaration
aqFileSystem.ChangeAttributes(Path, Attribute, Action)
| Path | [in] | Required | String | |
| Attribute | [in] | Required | Integer | |
| Action | [in] | Required | Integer | |
| Result | Integer | |||
Applies To
The method is applied to the following object:
Parameters
The method has the following parameters:
Path
Defines the fully qualified path to the file or folder whose attributes should be modified.
Attribute
An integer number that specifies the file’s new attributes. This parameter can accept one or a combination of constants listed in the following table (these constants are defined in the aqFileSystem object). To combine multiple values, use the bitwise OR operator.
| Constant | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
faReadOnly |
1 | A read-only file or folder. |
faHidden |
2 | A hidden file or folder. |
faSystem |
4 | A system file or folder. |
faArchive |
32 | An archive file or folder. |
faNormal |
128 | A file or folder that does not have any other attributes set. |
faTemporary |
256 | A file that is used for temporary storage. |
faOffline |
4096 | A file whose data is physically moved to offline storage. |
faNotContentIndexed |
8192 | A file that is not to be indexed by the content indexing service. |
Action
Specifies the action that the method should perform. This parameter can be one of the following constants defined in the aqFileSystem object:
| Constant | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
fattrSet |
0 | Sets the corresponding attribute(s). |
fattrInvert |
1 | Toggles the current state of the attribute(s). |
fattrFree |
2 | Clears the corresponding attribute(s). |
Result Value
If the attributes have been changed successfully, the method returns 0. Otherwise, it returns a Windows error code. To get a description that corresponds to the given error code, you can use the aqUtils.SysErrorMessage method. A complete list of error codes is provided in the System Error Codes article in the MSDN library.
Remarks
The following attributes cannot be altered by the ChangeAttributes method:
| Constant | Value | Reason |
|---|---|---|
faDirectory |
16 | A file cannot be transformed to a folder and vice versa. |
faSparseFile |
512 | Files are marked as sparse or not sparse via special tools and functions of the operating system. |
faReparsePoint |
1024 | Reparse points are associated with files and folders via special tools and functions of the operating system. |
faCompressed |
2048 | File and folder compression is enabled and disabled via specific tools and functions of the operating system. |
faEncrypted |
16384 | Files and folder encryption is enabled and disabled via specific tools and functions of the operating system. |
faVirtual |
65536 | Virtual files are created via special functions of the operating system. |
Example
The following code snippet demonstrates how you can make a file read-only during the test run:
JavaScript, JScript
aqFileSystem.ChangeAttributes("C:\\MyFile.txt", aqFileSystem.faReadOnly, aqFileSystem.fattrSet);
Python
aqFileSystem.ChangeAttributes("C:\\MyFile.txt", aqFileSystem.faReadOnly, aqFileSystem.fattrSet)VBScript
Call aqFileSystem.ChangeAttributes("C:\MyFile.txt", aqFileSystem.faReadOnly, aqFileSystem.fattrSet)
DelphiScript
aqFileSystem.ChangeAttributes('C:\MyFile.txt', aqFileSystem.faReadOnly, aqFileSystem.fattrSet);
C++Script, C#Script
aqFileSystem["ChangeAttributes"]("C:\\MyFile.txt", aqFileSystem["faReadOnly"], aqFileSystem["fattrSet"]);
The code below clears a folder’s read-only and hidden attributes:
JavaScript, JScript
aqFileSystem.ChangeAttributes("C:\\MyFolder", aqFileSystem.faReadOnly | aqFileSystem.faHidden, aqFileSystem.fattrFree);
Python
aqFileSystem.ChangeAttributes("C:\\MyFolder", aqFileSystem.faReadOnly | aqFileSystem.faHidden, aqFileSystem.fattrFree)VBScript
Call aqFileSystem.ChangeAttributes("C:\MyFolder", aqFileSystem.faReadOnly Or aqFileSystem.faHidden, aqFileSystem.fattrFree)
DelphiScript
aqFileSystem.ChangeAttributes('C:\MyFolder', aqFileSystem.faReadOnly or aqFileSystem.faHidden, aqFileSystem.fattrFree);
C++Script, C#Script
aqFileSystem["ChangeAttributes"]("C:\\MyFolder", aqFileSystem["faReadOnly"] | aqFileSystem["faHidden"], aqFileSystem["fattrFree"]);
See Also
Working With Files From Scripts
CheckAttributes Method
Attributes Property
Attributes Property
GetFileAttributes Method
SetFileAttributes Method
SysErrorMessage Method