What happens to the permission of a file when the file is moved within one NTFS volume?

THE INFORMATION IN THIS ARTICLE APPLIES TO:

• WAFS/CDP (all versions)

SYMPTOM

When you drag files from one folder to another with different permissions, the permissions from the previous folder follow the file. Then, when someone tries to open the file in the new folder, they do not have permission to open the file.

RESOLUTION

This has nothing to do with WAFS/CDP; it is the built in Windows behavior for NTFS volumes. When you copy or move a file or folder on an NTFS volume, how Windows Explorer handles the permissions on the object varies, depending on whether the object is copied or moved within the same NTFS volume or to a different volume. When moving files, Windows keeps the original file permissions if you are moving files to a location within the same volume. If you copy and paste or move a file to a different volume, it will be assigned the permissions of the destination folder.

Microsoft has a fix for this situation. (This is a per-system fix.)

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310316

You can modify how Windows Explorer handles permissions when objects are copied or moved to another NTFS volume. When you copy or move an object to another volume, the object inherits the permissions of its new folder. However, if you want to modify this behavior to preserve the original permissions, modify the registry as follows.

1. Open the Registry Editor (click Start > Run, type regedit, then press ENTER).

2. Locate the following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

3. With the key selected, on the Edit menu, click Add Value, and then add the following registry value:

   Value name: ForceCopyAclwithFile

   Data type: DWORD

   Value data: 1

4. Exit the Registry Editor.

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Last Modified:10 Years Ago

Last Modified By:GlobalSCAPE 5

Type:HOWTO

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What happens to NTFS permissions if you copy or move the files or folders? The answer is: it depends. Read more to learn what happens!

To give you a clearer explanation, consider the following three scenarios. Let’s assume that you are going to copy “D:MyFolder” and let’s assume that “D:” has an NTFS format.

Copying Files between NTFS Partitions

Move D:MyFolder to D:MyFiles

Results:

• The file or folder retains its original NTFS permissions.
• You must have the “Write” permission set up for the destination folder to move files and folders into that folder.
• You must have the “Modify” permission set up for the source file or folder. The “Modify” permission is required to move a file or folder because Windows 2000 deletes files and folders from the source folder after they are copied to the destination folder.
• You become the creator and owner.

Moving Files between NTFS Partitions

Copy D:MyFolder to F:MyFolder

Results:

• The file or folder inherits the NTFS permissions of the destination folder.
• You must have the “Write” permission set up for the destination folder to move files and folders into that folder.
• You must have the “Modify” permission set up for the source file or folder. The “Modify” permission is required to move a file or folder because Windows XP Professional deletes files and folder from the source folder after they are copied to the destination folder.
• You become the creator and owner.

Copying Files

What happens when you move a file with NTFS permissions to a different NTFS volume?

What happens to the NTFS permissions of files when a user moves them to a folder on a different volume?

What will happen to the original NTFS permissions Once the folder has been moved?

What happens when you combine NTFS and share permissions?