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Managing Permissions with File Manager

Permissions can be set for your directories and files. These permissions determine who can view, write to, and/or use the directories and folders in your site.

The permission settings are each comprised of nine letters (or characters) in a row that appear to the far left of the listing for each directory or file. Each letter represents a type of access, while the position in the nine-digit string dictates who has that type of access.

The characters displayed in these settings can be r, w, x or -.

r stands for read access; whoever has this level of access can view the file or directory.

w stands for write access; whoever has this level of access can overwrite existing files or write new files in the specified directory.

x stands for execute access; whoever has this level of access can run executable files.

- (the dash) indicates that no permission is given.

Changing Permissions
The first three positions in the nine-digit string are the permission settings for the owner. The second three digits are for any groups (if any groups are created), while the last three digits are the permission settings for others (anyone who is not the owner, or is not a part of a previously declared group).

1. From within the File Manager screen, click on any of the Permission Setting links for the desired file or directory. The Change Permission screen displays.

2. The Change permission of file or directory name message indicates which file or directory permissions you are changing. Once a directory's permissions are set, you can access specific sub-directories and files within the directory to alter the settings on an individual basis.

3. Notice in the Change Permission screen the nine-digit setting is split up into the groups that were discussed earlier: Owner, Group and Others.

4. As the owner of the file or directory, typically you should have full access, so all three settings r, w, x (read, write, execute) should be selected.

5. If you have set up groups (which involves the creation of a group and the addition of usernames into the group) select the appropriate permission settings.

If this group is a collection of people to which you are giving the ability to see and use files which you are otherwise denying to other people, then select the read and execute settings.

If this group is more of a workgroup, containing members who will be working with files and directories on your site, then it would be appropriate to select the write setting also.

6. The Other settings depend on how much access you want to give. Typically, both read and execute access are given to everyone while write access is denied. This allows people to view and use your site without being able to change it.

However, there may be items that you wish to keep hidden from globally, in which case you would disable the read and, depending on the file or directory, execute permissions.

When all of the settings are correct, select the Submit button to finalize the changes. The File Manager window reappears with the new settings.