uncheck read only on all folders

[Jan Philips]

I updated some software and now all of my folders are marked "read
only". Is there an easy way to uncheck read only on all of them,
without having to go to each one?

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

I updated some software and now all of my folders are marked "read
only". Is there an easy way to uncheck read only on all of them,
without having to go to each one?

There is no point in doing this since Windows ignores the read-only
attribute of folders.

 

[VanguardLH]

I updated some software and now all of my folders are marked "read
only". Is there an easy way to uncheck read only on all of them,
without having to go to each one?

The read-only attribute on *folders* is NOT the same as for files. On
folders, it means there has been some customization of the folder.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/256614

 

[Jan Philips]

There is no point in doing this since Windows ignores the read-only
attribute of folders.

Hmmm. I was trying to download to a folder and it said that it
couldn't write to that folder. I unchecked "read only" and then it
worked.

 

[Jan Philips]

Hmmm. I was trying to download to a folder and it said that it
couldn't write to that folder. I unchecked "read only" and then it
worked.

Something else must have gone wrong because it was changed back to
"read only" but now it works.

 

[Bob I]

Something else must have gone wrong because it was changed back to
"read only" but now it works.

That's because it never was read-only, you never changed it, and it
didn't change back. The "read-only" box found in Folder Properties has
no connection to the read-only attribute of the folder. It's sole
purpose is to SET or UNSET the read-only atributes of the FILES
contained within the folder, NOT the folder itself. You may prove this
to yourself by setting the Folder Views to Details, enabling the
attributes to be shown and then SET and Apply the read-only box. ONLY
the files will become read-only, UNSET(clear the box) and apply to clear
the read-only on the files.

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

That's because it never was read-only, you never changed it, and it didn't
change back. The "read-only" box found in Folder Properties has no
connection to the read-only attribute of the folder. It's sole purpose is
to SET or UNSET the read-only atributes of the FILES contained within the
folder, NOT the folder itself. You may prove this to yourself by setting
the Folder Views to Details, enabling the attributes to be shown and then
SET and Apply the read-only box. ONLY the files will become read-only,
UNSET(clear the box) and apply to clear the read-only on the files.

When you change a parent folder's read-only attribut then you are prompted
to apply the attribute to files and folders inside the the parent folder. If
you say no then the file attributes are *not* affected. Furthermore, if a
parent folder's read-only attribute is set and if you then copy an
unprotected file to that folder then its read-only attribute will *not* be
set (unless you copy it from a CD). In other words, Windows ignores the
read-only attribute of folders.

 

[Jan Philips]

set (unless you copy it from a CD). In other words, Windows ignores the
read-only attribute of folders.

Thanks guys.

 

[Bob I]

When you change a parent folder's read-only attribut then you are prompted
to apply the attribute to files and folders inside the the parent folder. If
you say no then the file attributes are *not* affected. Furthermore, if a
parent folder's read-only attribute is set and if you then copy an
unprotected file to that folder then its read-only attribute will *not* be
set (unless you copy it from a CD). In other words, Windows ignores the
read-only attribute of folders.

We need to be careful here, you can't change the FOLDER read-only
attribute from the GUI, only by command line prompt or batch/CMD file.
And the Folder read-only attribute is independant of the attributes if
the files and folders contained within it.

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

We need to be careful here, you can't change the FOLDER read-only
attribute from the GUI, only by command line prompt or batch/CMD file.

Well, I don't know what you're looking at but on my WinXP machine I can
certainly change a folder's attributes using Windows Explorer (which is a
GUI). Just right-click the folder, then left-click Properties to see (and
set!) the attributes.

 

[Bob I]

Well, I don't know what you're looking at but on my WinXP machine I can
certainly change a folder's attributes using Windows Explorer (which is a
GUI). Just right-click the folder, then left-click Properties to see (and
set!) the attributes.

That doesn't change the read-only properties of the folder itself, only
the files contained within, and optionally the files contained in
sub-folders. As I pointed out earlier, Set view to Details, and elect to
display attributes and notice that for folders the "R" never shows.
(unless you set it by command prompt)

 

[John Wunderlich]

Well, I don't know what you're looking at but on my WinXP machine
I can certainly change a folder's attributes using Windows
Explorer (which is a GUI). Just right-click the folder, then
left-click Properties to see (and set!) the attributes.

Yes, but you aren't really looking at the "Read Only" attribute -- it
just looks that way. It is explained very well in the KB article:

"You cannot view or change the Read-only or the System attributes of
folders in Windows Server 2003, in Windows XP, in Windows Vista or in
Windows 7"
<http://support.microsoft.com/kb/326549>


Quoting from a portion of it:
The Read-only and System attributes is only used by Windows Explorer to
determine whether the folder is a special folder, such as a system
folder that has its view customized by Windows (for example, My
Documents, Favorites, Fonts, Downloaded Program Files), or a folder
that you customized by using the Customize tab of the folder's
Properties dialog box. As a result, Windows Explorer does not allow you
to view or change the Read-only or System attributes of folders.

HTH,
John

 

[Tim Slattery]

I updated some software and now all of my folders are marked "read
only". Is there an easy way to uncheck read only on all of them,
without having to go to each one?

There is no read-only attribute for folders.

What you see when you bring up the Properties|General page for a
folder is a short-cut that enables you to set or clear the read-only
property for all files within the folder at once.

You're looking at a three-state check box. When you first see it, it's
in its neutral state: neither checked nor unchecked. Usually, you see
the box filled with a green block (may be different depending on your
theme). Click it and the green block disappears, now it's unchecked.
Click it again and a check mark appears. One more click and you're
back to the neutral state.

The green block is frequently misinterpreted as saying that the folder
is read-only. So the user clears the box and hits OK. Then he reopens
the dialog and sees the green block again. And freaks out.

 

[Bob I]

Small correction, The Properties|General tab for a
folder does NOT indicate the condition of the read-only attribute for
the folder.

You may in fact set a folder to read-only via the command prompt, Run
box or a batch or CMD file by using the ATTRIB command with the R
switch. While you can set and unset it, Windows for all practical
purposes will ignore it. You may observe it turn on and off by enabling
the attribute column in Details view.