GetAttr Function

GetAttr Function

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Class

Microsoft.VisualBasic.FileSystem

Syntax

     Dim result As FileAttribute = GetAttr(pathname) 

pathname (required; String)

The file or directory from which to obtain the attribute details

Description

The GetAttr function retrieves the current set of attributes for a specific file. The return value is the sum of one or more of the following Microsoft.VisualBasic.FileAttribute enumeration values (each of which has a related intrinsic Visual Basic constant):

Enumeration	Constant	Value	Description
Normal	vbNormal	0	Normal file (the absence of other attributes)
ReadOnly	vbReadOnly	1	Read-only file
Hidden	vbHidden	2	Hidden file
System	vbSystem	4	System file
Directory	vbDirectory	16	Directory or folder
Archive	vbArchive	32	File has changed since last backup

Usage at a Glance

• pathname can be either an absolute or relative path to a file. It can exist on the local or remote drive and can use the drive-letter or UNC path format.

• An error occurs if pathname is invalid or cannot be found.

• You can check if a particular attribute has been set by performing a bitwise And comparison of the GetAttr return value with the attribute constant. For example:

       If ((GetAttr("myfile.txt") And vbReadOnly) = 0) then         MsgBox("The file is Read-Write")     Else         MsgBox("The file is Read-Only")     End If 

  
  

Version Differences

Visual Basic 2005 includes My.Computer.FileSystem.GetDirectoryInfo and My.Computer.FileSystem.GetFileInfo methods that provide access to related functionality.

See Also

SetAttr Procedure