Netware file permissions 1

[DaveBrown]

Hi All,
I am running Netware 5.1 with SP7/8.
If I set rights at the document / spreadsheet level then after a couple of days the rights are lost and the user has no access to the document / spreadsheet.
However if the rights are set at the folder which contains the document /spreadsheet then the rights are retained.

Thanks in Advance for any assistance

regards

Dave

 

[marvhuffaker]

This is not really a problem with NetWare, it's really a problem with the way most applications handle open files. This is especially true with Microsoft applications.

When you open a Microsoft app, it actually creates a new temp file. I believe that when you save/close the file, the original file is deleted and the new file written to and closed. This means that any permissions set on the original file are now lost. Thank Mr. Gates for that. Also, when the new file is created, it is granted the same permissions that the parent folder had, not the original file you opened (How is NetWare supposed to know this is what happened, they are just files to NetWare).

The reason you don't have this problem when you set rights to the folder is because in NetWare, all files and subfolders inherit the permissions of the parent folder. So it doesn't matter whether you delete, create, whatever - the files will retain the permissions of the parent folder, so you don't have this issue.

NetWare file system is much different, and more efficient than Windows file system, because of the 'inherited' structural design. You don't have to apply attributes to all files and folders below a folder to make the permissions stick. they just work. Simple and Easy.

If you understand these basic concepts, managing a NetWare file system will be a breeze. Also, as a rule of thumb, it is much easier to manage file system permissions at the Folder level. If you are trying to do this task at the file level, it's very difficult to track and manage. I would recommend working with the limitations of the Microsoft application and setting folder permissions instead of file permissions.

Hope that helps.

Marvin

Marvin Huffaker, MCNE

http://www.redjuju.com

 

[terry712]

that sounds so much better than what i was gonna say
in my traditional pidgeon speak

as you say indiv files would be a nightmare to admin - stick with it at the dir level

 

[DaveBrown]

Marvin / Terry,
Many thanks for the replies - I'll pass the information to my colleague who had the problem and stick to folder level rights in the future

Dave