Windows Server Cookbook for Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000

Recipe 4.13. Making a File or Folder Read-Only

Problem

You want to prevent a file or folder from being updated by making it read-only.

Solution

Using a graphical user interface

1. Open Windows Explorer.

2. Browse to the file or folder you want to hide.

3. Right-click the file or folder and select Properties.

4. Check the box beside Read-only.

5. Click OK.

Using a command-line interface

To make a file read-only, use the attrib.exe command:

> attrib +R <Path>

Here is an example:

> attrib +R d:\mysecretscript.vbs

To make a file available for reading and writing, use the -R option:

> attrib -R <Path>

Here is an example:

> attrib -R d:\mysecretscript.vbs

Using VBScript

' This code enables or disables the read-only attribute of a file. ' ------ SCRIPT CONFIGURATION ------ strFile = "<FilePath>" ' e.g., d:\mysecretscript.vbs boolReadOnly = True ' True = read-only, False = not read-only ' ------ END CONFIGURATION --------- set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") ' Change this to GetFolder to hide/unhide a folder set objFile = objFSO.GetFile(strFile) if boolReadOnly = True then if objFile.Attributes AND 1 then WScript.Echo "File already read-only" else objFile.Attributes = objFile.Attributes + 1 WScript.Echo "File is now read-only" end if else if objFile.Attributes AND 1 then objFile.Attributes = objFile.Attributes - 1 WScript.Echo "File is not read-only" else WScript.Echo "File is already not read-only" end if end if