fileattrib

(Not recommended) Set or get attributes of file or folder

fileattrib is not recommended. Use filePermissions instead. For more information, see Compatibility Considerations.

Syntax

fileattrib

fileattrib filename

fileattrib filename attribs

fileattrib filename attribs users

fileattrib filename attribs users s

[status,values] = fileattrib(filename)

[status,msg,msgID] = fileattrib(filename,attribs,___)

Description

fileattrib lists the attribute values for the current folder. The values are listed using this structure:

Name

archive

system

hidden

directory

UserRead

UserWrite

UserExecute

GroupRead

GroupWrite

GroupExecute

OtherRead

OtherWrite

OtherExecute

The first field, Name, displays the file or folder name. The remaining fields display a value of 0 if the attribute is off, 1 if the attribute is on, and NaN if the attribute does not apply.

fileattrib is similar to the DOS attrib command, or the UNIX^® chmod command.

Note

In Windows^®, setting the write access attribute ('w') to read-only does not necessarily prevent write access. Therefore, the value for UserWrite may differ from what is expected.

fileattrib filename lists the attribute values for the named file or folder.

fileattrib filename attribs sets the specified attributes for the named file or folder.

fileattrib filename attribs users sets the file or folder attributes for the specified subset of users.

fileattrib filename attribs users s sets the specified attributes for the specified users for the contents of the named folder.

[status,values] = fileattrib(filename) returns the status and the last successfully set attribute values for the named file or folder. If the file exists, status is 1. Otherwise, status is 0.

[status,msg,msgID] = fileattrib(filename,attribs,___) sets the specified file attributes and returns the status of the operation as well as an error message and error message identifier if the set operation is unsuccessful.

Examples

View Current Folder Attributes on Windows

View attributes of the current folder on a Windows system, assuming the current folder is C:\my_MATLAB_files. The attributes indicate that you have read, write, and execute permissions for the current folder.

fileattrib

            Name: 'C:\my_MATLAB_files'
         archive: 0
          system: 0
          hidden: 0
       directory: 1
        UserRead: 1
       UserWrite: 1
     UserExecute: 1
       GroupRead: NaN
      GroupWrite: NaN
    GroupExecute: NaN
       OtherRead: NaN
      OtherWrite: NaN
    OtherExecute: NaN

View File Attributes on Windows

View attributes of the file myfile.m on a Windows system. The attributes indicate that the specified item is a file. You can read and execute the file, but cannot update it. The file is archived.

fileattrib myfile.m

            Name: 'C:\my_MATLAB_files\myfile.m'
         archive: 1
          system: 0
          hidden: 0
       directory: 0
        UserRead: 1
       UserWrite: 0
     UserExecute: 1
       GroupRead: NaN
      GroupWrite: NaN
    GroupExecute: NaN
       OtherRead: NaN
      OtherWrite: NaN
    OtherExecute: NaN

View Folder Attributes on Windows

View attributes for the folder C:\my_MATLAB_files\doc. The attributes indicate that you have read, write, and execute permissions for the folder.

fileattrib C:\my_MATLAB_files\doc

ans = 

            Name: 'C:\my_MATLAB_files\doc'
         archive: 0
          system: 0
          hidden: 0
       directory: 1
        UserRead: 1
       UserWrite: 1
     UserExecute: 1
       GroupRead: NaN
      GroupWrite: NaN
    GroupExecute: NaN
       OtherRead: NaN
      OtherWrite: NaN
    OtherExecute: NaN

View Folder Attributes on UNIX

View attributes for the folder /public on a UNIX system. The attributes indicate that you have read, write, and execute permissions for the folder. In addition, users in your UNIX group and all others have read and execute permissions for the folder, but not write permissions.

fileattrib /public

ans = 

            Name: '/public'
         archive: NaN
          system: NaN
          hidden: NaN
       directory: 1
        UserRead: 1
       UserWrite: 1
     UserExecute: 1
       GroupRead: 1
      GroupWrite: 0
    GroupExecute: 1
       OtherRead: 1
      OtherWrite: 0
    OtherExecute: 1

Set File Attributes on Windows

Make myfile.m writable.

fileattrib('myfile.m','+w')

Set File Attributes for All Users on UNIX

Make the folder /home/work/results a read-only folder for all users on UNIX platforms. The minus (-) preceding the write attribute, w, removes the write access, making the file read-only.

fileattrib('/home/work/results','-w','a')

Set Attributes for Folder and Its Contents on Windows

Make the folder D:\work\results and all its contents read-only and hidden. Because a value for the users argument is not applicable on Windows systems, users is specified as an empty character vector, ''. The 's' argument applies the hidden and write access attributes to the contents of the folder and to the folder itself.

fileattrib('D:\work\results','+h -w','','s')

Get Attributes Structure for a Folder on Windows

Get the attributes for the folder results and return them as a structure. A status value of 1 indicates that the operation is successful. The structure values contains the attributes of the folder.

[status,values] = fileattrib('results')

status =
     1

values = 
            Name: 'D:\work\results'
         archive: 0
          system: 0
          hidden: 0
       directory: 1
        UserRead: 1
       UserWrite: 1
     UserExecute: 1
       GroupRead: NaN
      GroupWrite: NaN
    GroupExecute: NaN
       OtherRead: NaN
      OtherWrite: NaN
    OtherExecute: NaN

Access the name attribute value in the structure. MATLAB^® returns the path for results.

values.Name

ans =
D:\work\results

Get Attributes Structure for Multiple Files on Windows

Get the attributes for all files in the current folder with names that begin with new. The returned 1x3 structure array values indicates that there are three matching files.

[status,values] = fileattrib('new*')

status =
     1

values = 
1x3 struct array with fields:
    Name
    archive
    system
    hidden
    directory
    UserRead
    UserWrite
    UserExecute
    GroupRead
    GroupWrite
    GroupExecute
    OtherRead
    OtherWrite
    OtherExecute

View the file names.

values.Name

ans =
D:\work\results\newname.m

ans =
D:\work\results\newone.m

ans =
D:\work\results\newtest.m

View just the second file name.

values(2).Name

ans =
D:\work\results\newname.m

Successfully Set Attributes for a File and Get Messages on Windows

Show output that results when an attempt to set file attributes is successful. The status value of 1 indicates that the set operation was successful. Therefore, no error msg or msgID is returned.

[status,msg,msgID] = fileattrib('C:\my_MATLAB_files\doc',...
'+h -w','','s')

status =

     1

msg =

     ''

msgID =

     ''

Unsuccessfully Set Attributes for a File and Get Messages on Windows

Show output that results when an attempt to set file attributes is unsuccessful. The status value of 0 indicates that the set operation was unsuccessful. The minus sign incorrectly appears after w, instead of before it. msg describes the error that occurred and msgID contains the message identifier for the error that occurred.

[status,msg,msgID] = fileattrib('C:\my_MATLAB_files\doc',...
'+h w-','','s')

status =

     0


msg =

Illegal file mode characters on the current platform.


msgID =

MATLAB:FILEATTRIB:ModeSyntaxError

Input Arguments

filename — File or folder name

character vector | string scalar

File or folder name, specified as a character vector or string scalar. You can specify an absolute or relative path. filename can include wildcards (*).

Example: fileattrib('myfile.m')

Data Types: char | string

attribs — File or folder attribute values

character vector | string scalar

File or folder attribute values, specified as a character vector or string scalar consisting of one or more of these values separated by spaces:

Value	Description
'a'	Archive (Microsoft® Windows platform only).
'h'	Hidden file (Windows platform only).
's'	System file (Windows platform only).
'w'	Write access (Windows and UNIX platforms). Results differ by platform and application. For example, even though fileattrib disables the “write” privilege for a folder, making it read-only, files in the folder could be writable for some platforms or applications.
'x'	Executable (UNIX platform only).

Use the plus (+) qualifier before an attribute to set it, and the minus (-) qualifier before an attribute to clear it.

Example: fileattrib('myfile.m', '+w -h')

Data Types: char | string

users — Subset of users

'a' | 'g' | 'o' | 'u' | ''

Subset of users (on UNIX platforms only), specified as one of these values:

Value for UNIX Systems	Description
'a'	All users
'g'	Group of users
'o'	All other users
'u'	Current user

Specify an empty value '' for all platforms other than UNIX. This value is not returned by fileattrib get operations.

Example: fileattrib('/home/work/results','-w','a')

Output Arguments

status — Indication of whether attempt to set or get attributes was successful

0 | 1

Indication of whether attempt to set or get attributes was successful, specified as 0 or 1. If the attempt to set or get attributes was successful, status is 1. Otherwise, status is 0.

values — Attribute structure

structure array

Attribute structure, specified as a structure array containing these fields and possible values:

Field name	Possible Values
Name	Character vector containing name of file or folder
archive	0 (not set), 1 (set), or NaN (not applicable)
system	0 (not set), 1 (set), or NaN (not applicable)
hidden	0 (not set), 1 (set), or NaN (not applicable)
directory	0 (not set), 1 (set), or NaN (not applicable)
UserRead	0 (not set), 1 (set), or NaN (not applicable)
UserWrite	0 (not set), 1 (set), or NaN (not applicable)
UserExecute	0 (not set), 1 (set), or NaN (not applicable)
GroupRead	0 (not set), 1 (set), or NaN (not applicable)
GroupWrite	0 (not set), 1 (set), or NaN (not applicable)
GroupExecute	0 (not set), 1 (set), or NaN (not applicable)
OtherRead	0 (not set), 1 (set), or NaN (not applicable)
OtherWrite	0 (not set), 1 (set), or NaN (not applicable)
OtherExecute	0 (not set), 1 (set), or NaN (not applicable)

Note

On Windows systems, setting the write access attribute ('w') to read-only does not necessarily prevent write access. Therefore, the value for UserWrite may differ from what is expected.

msg — Error message

character vector

Error message, specified as a character vector. If status is 0, msg contains the message text of the error. If status is 1, msg is empty, ''.

msgID — Error message identifier

character vector

Error message identifier, specified as a character vector. If status is 0, msgID contains the message id of the error. If status is 1, msgID is empty, ''.

Extended Capabilities

Thread-Based Environment
Run code in the background using MATLAB® backgroundPool or accelerate code with Parallel Computing Toolbox™ ThreadPool.

Version History

Introduced before R2006a

R2026a: fileattrib is not recommended

fileattrib is not recommended. Use filePermissions instead. There are no plans to remove fileattrib.

Starting in R2026a, view and edit file, folder, and symbolic link permissions using the filePermissions function. Based on your system, the filePermissions function will create a WindowsPermissions, UnixPermissions, CloudPermissions, or FileSystemEntryPermissions.