SetFile - sets file attributes

SYNOPSIS

       SetFile file1 [file2]...  [ -a attributes ] [ -c creator ]
       [ -d date ] [ -l h , v ] [ -m date ] [ -noResolve ] [ -t
       type ]

DESCRIPTION

       The SetFile command sets attributes for one or more files.
       The options apply to all files listed.

INPUT

       None

OUTPUT

       None

ALIAS RESOLUTION

       This command resolves Finder aliases used as part of any
       pathname or filename specification. You may use the option
       -noResolve to override this behavior, which allows you to
       use SetFile to set the attributes of your Finder alias
       file.

STATUS

       SetFile can return the following status codes:

       0  attributes set
       1  syntax error
       2  any other error

PARAMETERS

       file1 [file2] ...
              Specifies one or more files.

OPTIONS

       -a attributes
              Sets the file attribute bits, where attributes is a
              string of case-sensitive letters. Each letter
              corresponds to a file attribute: an uppercase
              letter indicates that the attribute bit is set (1);
              a lowercase letter indicates that it is not (0).
              These are the same attributes that are displayed
              for files in the -l and -x options of the Files
              command.  The letters and their meanings when set
              are given below. Note that attributes that are not
              specified in the command line remain unchanged.

              Attr   Meaning when set
              A | a  Finder alias file.
              V | v  Invisible. *
              B | b  Has bundle.
              C | c  File has custom icon.
              O | o  File is open.
              L | l  Write-locked.
              I | i  Initialized (that is, the Finder is aware of
                     this file and has given it a location in a
                     window). *
              N | n  File has no 'INIT' resource.
              M | m  Shared file (can be launched multiple
                     times).
              W | w  Always switch launch (if possible).
              D | d  Located on the desktop. Note that this
                     attribute is not used in System 7. *

              * This attribute can also be set for folders.

              Note
              These attributes are described in the chapter about
              the File Manager in Inside Macintosh.

       -c creator
              Specifies the file's creator, where creator is a
              string of exactly four characters. For example,

              -c 'MPS '

       -d date
              Sets the creation date, where date is a string of
              the form

              "mm/dd/yy [ hh:mm[:ss]  [ AM | PM ] ]"

              representing the month, day, year (0-99), hour
              (0-23), minute, and second. Note that you must
              enclose the string in quotation marks if it
              contains spaces and that, as a convenience, you can
              use a period ( . ) instead of the form shown above
              to indicate the current date and time.

       -l h,v Sets the icon location, where h and v are positive
              integer values that represent the horizontal and
              vertical pixel offsets from the upper-left corner
              of the enclosing window.

       -m date
              Sets the modification date, where date is a string
              of the same format used for -d.  As a convenience
              you can use a period ( . ) in place of the usual
              date string to indicate the current date and time.

       -noResolve
              Prevents SetFile from resolving the leaf alias in
              the input file path. This lets you act on the
              Sets the file type, where type is a string of
              exactly four characters. For example:

              -t 'TEXT'

EXAMPLES

       The following command line sets the creator and type for
       the ResEqual tool:

       SetFile ResEqual -c "MPS " -t MPST

       This command line sets the modification date of the myFile
       file:

       SetFile myFile -m "5/13/92 12:29"

       Using a period (.) as a parameter to -m, the following
       command line sets the modification date of the myFile and
       Bar files to the current date and time. Setting the date
       is useful, for instance, before running the Make tool.

       SetFile myFile Bar -m

SEE ALSO

       Files