FindFirstFile/FindNextFile dwFileAttributes unexpected value (or not)?

Question

When I run my code, the file attribute is 32 for all of my files.

According to this Microsoft docs page:

FILE_ATTRIBUTE_ARCHIVE, 32 (0x20), A file or directory that is an archive file or directory. Applications typically use this attribute to mark files for backup or removal .

But those are normal .jpg files. I would have expected something like this:

FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL, 128 (0x80), A file that does not have other attributes set. This attribute is valid only when used alone.

Is this just my setup, or is this the expected value for normal files?

Answer 1

There's nothing wrong with it. All files/folders in Windows have 4 basic attributes: Read-only, System, Hidden, Archive. The Archive attribute is pretty much useless these days because it's only used for backup tools to recognize whether a file has been backed up or not in the CP/M and DOS era and has nothing to do with the file type. Any files can have it enabled

It's also explained in the MSDN doc you linked above:

A file or directory that is an archive file or directory. Applications typically use this attribute to mark files for backup or removal .