How to Change File Permissions in Windows 8

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you wanted to delete or edit a folder on a PC you were using but couldn’t do so because you did not have permissions to do it? This is because the administrator of the PC may limit what other users logged onto the PC can do with the files and folders created on it. File permissions include Read, Write, Read & Execute, List Folder Contents, Modify and Full Control. In order to know what level of file permissions you have, you can check the Properties of the file or folder in question. In this post, we’ll take a look at how to check file permissions assigned to you and how to change file permissions so you can do more with the files and folders on your PC.

Understanding the File and Folder Permissions

Before you change file permissions, you need to know what the various permissions mean.

Read: Read permission allows you to view and list files and subfolders in a folder and access file contents.

Write: Write permission allows you to add files and subfolders to a folder and permits writing to a file.

Read & Execute: This allows you to view and list files and subfolders as well as execute files in a folder while it allows for viewing and accessing the file’s contents and executing it.

List Folder Contents: This applies only to folders and allows for viewing and listing of files and subfolders as well as executing of files.

Modify: Allows permission to read and write files and subfolders in a folder as well as deletion of the folder. In the case of files, you can read and write the file as well as delete it.

Full Control: Full control grants read, write, change, and delete permissions for files and subfolders in a folder and read, write, change, and delete permissions for file contents.

How to Change File Permissions in Windows 8

To change file permissions in Windows 8:

1. Right-click a file or folder on your PC and choose Properties.

2.  In the Folder Properties dialog box, in the General tab, in the Attributes section, notice that the folder has Read-only permissions.

3. Select the Security tab. You will see the list of users registered on the PC. Select your username. In the Permissions box below, you can see the various permissions allowed for that user. To change the permissions for the folder you need to have an Administrator account. If you don’t have an administrator account, you need to get in touch with your Administrator to change the folder permissions, or have the Administrator change your status so you can change file permissions.

4. To change permissions, click Edit.

5. In the Permissions folder, scroll down and Allow or Deny permissions as you see fit.

Now that you know how to change file permissions in Windows 8, use them judiciously to grant permissions to other users or yourself.