Windows XP File Permissions

Published: Saturday, 8 April 2006

Windows uses complicated file permissions.

Enabling advanced permissions

By default you will not see the full range of file permissions that you can edit. To enable this, open Windows Explorer, then Tools → Folder Options…

A Folder Options dialog will popup.

Click on the View tab, then scroll down to the last checkbox “Use simple file sharing (Recommended)” and uncheck this box.

Use simple file sharing

Editing permissions

In Windows Explorer, right click on the file or folder you wish to change permissions for, and select “Sharing and Security…”. This will now show a Security tab which was not visible before.