"Mode" info returned by Windows 10 dir command

Windows 10 seems to have a new set of info returned by the "dir" Powershell command. This appears under the "Mode" heading, e.g. -a---- or d----- , but nowhere have I found what these entries mean or how to interpret the individual characters. I get that they have to do with folder and/or file permissions, but where are they explicitly described?

TimDaniels

This article explains mode in more detail...

When you run a command the output includes a mode column:

PS C:\work> dir *.txt

Directory: C:\work

Mode LastWriteTime Length Name
---- ------------- ------ ----
-a--- 2/10/2012 8:21 AM 322158 a.txt
-a--- 10/5/2011 8:37 PM 322174 a2.txt
-a--- 2/15/2011 7:36 AM 5444 add-perm.txt

Mode is actually showing the collection of file or folder attributes. But you can also get these attributes directly:

PS C:\work> dir a*.txt | select Name,Attributes

Name Attributes
---- ----------
a.txt Archive
a2.txt Archive
...

File Attributes in PowerShell -- Microsoft Certified Professional Magazine Online

Neither your answer nor your links tell what d----- or -a---- means. The documentation of the FORMAT of the new "Modes" returned info is what I'm looking for. And this "Modes" info isn't returned by Windows 7, so it might be something new for Windows 10 and documentation may have been neglected.

Bree said:

This article explains mode in more detail...
File Attributes in PowerShell -- Microsoft Certified Professional Magazine Online

Thanks, Bree, that seems to imply that "Mode" is something new with Powershell, but that article also doesn't explain what each character POSITION represents in the Mode portion of the information. Nowhere have I been able to find that explanation.

TimDaniels

TimDaniels said:

Thanks, Bree, that seems to imply that "Mode" is something new with Powershell,...

No, 'mode' has been a standard term for 'attributes' for a long time, such as in the unix command chmod (change mode). As far as I know Powershell has always shown them. There's a discussion (and a list of modes) on StackOverflow...

Note that the mode you see is just a string representation of a bitfield enum...

What are the possible 'Mode' values returned by Powershell's Get-ChildItem cmdlet? - Stack Overflow

The bitfield is a sum of the individual values for each attribute, The full list of them and their meaning is here...

FileAttributes Enum (System.IO) | Microsoft Docs

Try3 said:

A means archive bit is set
D means directory [folder]
. . . .
You can also see attributes explained by running the command attrib /?

Denis

Thanks for your replies, but the command "attrib /?" doesn't list the D attribute, much less the d attribute, or any other lower case letter. And there are many references to the term "file permissions" in Microsoft literature. Are "permissions" and "attributes" interchangeable terms in the Microsoft lexicon? Plus, "attrib /?" lists eleven upper case characters as settable attributes, but there are just 6 character positions alloted in the returned "Mode" information from the dir command. Are some of the 11 characters mutually exclusive so that a maximum of 6 characters makes sense?
TimDaniels

OK, Denis and Bree -

So the returned info are just character strings representing bitwise sums of bit-position coded attributes. Thanks for bearing with me on this. Now the reason for the inquiry is because I'm trying to solve a BCD dual-booting problem - detailed in a subsequent question.