Folder attributes are stored in the Extended Attributes (EA) of the directory associated with it. The WPS creates two sections in the EAs for a directory. One section is used to store the icon positions for the objects displayed in the folder while the other records the folder attributes. This section discusses the directory EAs on an HPFS disk.
The first one created is called ICONPOS and contains the following information:
..A...WPShadow:A2DA0.a.. ..J...WPDataFile:Fxyz... ..J...WPDataFile:Fabc... ..J...WPDataFile:FData_File.V. ..<...WPShadow:A48CA.@...C....Contents of Directory Extended Attributes (ICONPOS)
This folder contains five objects: three are data files, called "xyz", "abc" and "Data_File"; and two are shadows, with HOBJECTs "2DA0" and "48CA".
The ICONPOS section is created automatically by the WPS and 30 bytes are allocated for the folder position. Each file which is added to the folder is recorded here and 21 bytes are allocated for the icon position plus 1 byte for each character in the file name. Abstract objects (shadows and programs) take a fixed number of bytes; 23. This is based on 21 bytes for the icon position and 2 bytes for the abstract reference (HOBJECT) in the OS2.INI file.
The other section is called "CLASSINFO". This includes information such as the class the folder belongs to (this can be changed by the "work area" checkbox in the Settings view).
.............WPFolder.E)...).. .)...~.....(.WPFolder...T..... 0...U...D.P...[.....0......... ....6.WPObject................ ..............................Contents of Directory Extended Attributes (CLASSINFO)
Information about which WPS class the object belongs to is needed to ensure that the correct class methods are used when the WPS is asked to create a new instance of the folder.
Directory EAs are updated when the folder settings are changed from the Settings view and as the name or contents change.