Windows File and Folder "Attributes" A or C

In Windows Server 2003, in the "Attributes" column of windows explorer, some files have "A" or "C" or "AC" or others. What do these mean?

Solution 1:

Prior to windows 8/10 the attributes were:

R = READONLY
H = HIDDEN
S = SYSTEM
A = ARCHIVE 
C = COMPRESSED
N = NOT INDEXED
L = Reparse Points
O = OFFLINE
P = Sparse File
I = Not content indexed
T = TEMPORARY
E = ENCRYPTED

You should pay special attention to the offline attribute because it may affect the behavior of your backup software. Files with the O attribute may be skipped entirely because the software may assume they are stored elsewhere.

Consider these answers on SO and SF for additional information:

https://superuser.com/questions/1214542/what-do-new-windows-8-10-attributes-mean-no-scrub-file-x-integrity-v-pinn/1215034

https://superuser.com/questions/44812/windows-explorers-file-attribute-column-values

Solution 2:

A = archive bit is set
C = compressed

Solution 3:

Another attribute is E for Encrypted.