DOS stores six attributes for every file. These settings can either be on or off and are recorded in the directory entry for the file that reflects some aspect of its status. For example, each file has a Read-only attribute. If this is on, DOS will not let the file be altered, updated or deleted. The attributes Read-only, Archive, Hidden and System may be altered by users using software such as DOS ATTRIB. The other two attributes, Volume and Directory, are used internally by DOS to identify volume label and sub-directory entries.
