object.Attributes [= newattributes]

Arguments
object

Required. Always the name of a File or Folder object.

newattributes

Optional. If provided, newattributes is the new value for the attributes of the specified object.

Settings
The newattributes argument can have any of the following values or any logical combination of the following values:

Constant Value Description
Normal 0 Normal file. No attributes are set.
ReadOnly 1 Read-only file. Attribute is read/write.
Hidden 2 Hidden file. Attribute is read/write.
System 4 System file. Attribute is read/write.
Directory 16 Folder or directory. Attribute is read-only.
Archive 32 File has changed since last backup. Attribute is read/write.
Alias 1024 Link or shortcut. Attribute is read-only.
Compressed 2048 Compressed file. Attribute is read-only.

Remarks
Attempts to change any of the read-only attributes (Alias, Compressed, or Directory) are ignored.

When setting attributes, it is generally a good idea to first read the current attributes, then change the individual attributes as desired, and finally write the attributes back.

The following code illustrates the use of the Attributes property with a file:

Function ToggleArchiveBit(filespec)
Dim fso, f
Set fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set f = fso.GetFile(filespec)
If f.attributes and 32 Then
f.attributes = f.attributes - 32
ToggleArchiveBit = "Archive bit is cleared."
Else
f.attributes = f.attributes + 32
ToggleArchiveBit = "Archive bit is set."
End If
End Function