Several characteristics called attributes may be associated with a file or directory. The attributes can be one or more of the following values.
| Attribute | Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Archive | A | The file or directory is marked for archiving. Backup applications use this attribute to identify items that need backing up. It does not mean that the item is a ZIP, RAR, or other archive container. |
| Compressed | C | The file or directory is compressed (only on NTFS volumes). 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. |
| Encrypted | E | The file or directory is encrypted (only on NTFS volumes). For a file, this means that all of the data in the file is encrypted. For a directory, this means that all newly created files and subdirectories will be encrypted. |
| Hidden | H | The file or directory is hidden. It is not included in an ordinary directory listing. |
| Offline | O | The data of the file is not immediately available. This attribute indicates that the file data has been physically moved to offline storage. This attribute is used by Remote Storage, the hierarchical storage management software. |
| Read-only | R | The file is read-only. Applications can read it but cannot write to or delete it while this attribute is set. Windows does not honor this attribute on directories; it does not prevent their contents from being changed. |
| System | S | The file or directory is part of the operating system or is used exclusively by the operating system. |
| Temporary | T | 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. |