Extended Attributes (EAs) are used extensively by the Workplace Shell. The settings data for any object are stored in EAs. File settings are stored in file EAs while folder settings and some content attributes are stored in directory EA files.
On an HPFS partition, Extended Attributes are stored in a special, hidden area close to the files themselves. On a FAT file system, Extended Attributes are stored in a hidden file in the root directory of each FAT partition; this file is named "EA_DATA. SF"
Not all file systems support EAs and this can cause problems when transferring files around a LAN or to diskette. For example, using files from a server using Novell Netware before Version 3.11, or using AIX*, would lead to the EAs being lost. This is also a problem for DOS programs, which do not understand EAs and therefore cannot write them when they replace a file.
For a more complete discussion of how EAs are used in the Workplace Shell, refer to Extended Attributes.