"O" file attribute in Windows XP

[cjmaio]

Does anyone know what the "O" file attribute is? This attribute started appearing on the file servers at work recently. A little black symbol is also attached to the file's icon.

[Rob Pomeroy]

Files scheduled for offline synchronisation, perhaps?  Where are you seeing this 'O' attribute?

[cjmaio]

It shows up in the Attributes column in Windows Explorer along with A H S R if they are set.

[Rob Pomeroy]

Compressed?  Encrypted?  (Can you tell I'm guessing?!)

[Raptor]

Shouldn't your network administrator be able to tell you what it is?

[cjmaio]

The IS dept in my company is very very diffidult to deal with. I have a simple small application to install on an application server, no custom stuff, straight out of the box. I installed it on a stand alone PC in about 10 minutes. I am still trying to get it installed on a server three months later. They are too *censored* retentive to answer a question like this and I am not going to waste my time with them. I figure I will have better luck with the friendly people on this forum.

[Raptor]

I don't think any of us have seen it before, we'd need to be directly behind the PC to figure out what it is from.

Could you give us a name or just a file name that is related to it? Anything would be useful..

Also mention any security software and device drivers you may have installed that could have caused this.

[cjmaio]

It doesn't seem to be related to any particular file type. I don't know what software or drivers are installed, this is a file server of which I have very few privileges. The servers on my company's network are very secure. I had a vendor rep come in to service our plotter one time and he made the comment: "This is the tightest network I have ever encountered." I can't even view the registry on any server (access denied). I suspect this attribute is related to new software on the file servers that will enable anyone to retreive a file or folder from backup up to three days prior without having to submit a request to retrieve from backup. The more I think about, the attribute started appearing around the same time the new backup retrieval software appeared. By the way, here is a screenshot of where anyone can retrieve a backup. It is part of the Properties dialog box of a file or folder.

[Raptor]

Perhaps you could E-mail the company behind your back-up software and ask them if it is related? It seems to me that Rob Pomeroy was pretty close.

[2k_dummy]

The more I think about, the attribute started appearing around the same time the new backup retrieval software appeared.

Is this perhaps an IBM server runnnig Unix? The is most likely marked "for output", though the O attribute can serve other purposes. If the IT dudes remove the attribute or it gets automatically archived after a period of time, you will no longer be able to retrieve the file.