You cannot make a directory readonly (at least, not in DOS). you can only make it's files and the files in it's subdirectories readonly. Even if you could make a directory readonly, it would be useless because directories are treated differently to files, even though they are just files with the directory attribute.

I think there are couple of ways to do this. Simplest I think is use the system call and use OS specific command within. e.g system("attrib +r mydir") will make mydir read-only.

cheers,
aj.wh.ca

Thanks a lot friends for your prompt help.

I think i have done a great exploration by finding this group.

I am sorry that i didn't explained my problem in detail in my last post.

Well better late than never.

Here it is.

Actually i am developing a project in which i have to keep the user's data in a folder which has been kept in a server(Win2k based) on my network.

The folder will be shared with all the users and all rights(read/write/modify etc.)will be granted to all the users on the folder(its a requirement of the my program).

Now my main worry is that since all the users will be granted full rights on the shared folders, hence if someone gets a mischief and he/she deletes all the contents of the shared folder , then all the userfull data of the users will be lost.

Hence i want to develop a mechanism in which only some users will be having all the rights while some users will be having readonly rights and I want this assignment of rights on the shared folder(installed on server) to be done through my C++ program (installed on client machines).

Can anyone suggest a remedy for this???

Thanks Again
Rituraj Raina

Hi Rituraj ,
Unless you have some other requirement for the program you are trying to develop I would call it re-inventing the wheel. For the purpose you have written, I would strongly suggest that you use Win2K control panel. You can easily assign rights on a folder (which has users data) on a per user basis. Its a very simple task that way.
regards,
aj.wh.ca

hi, i am also interested in modifying a files attributes using C++. Symbian OS as far as I know how has no OS built in commands for modifying a files attributes... It works on the same basis of windows attributes, because files modified on an mmc by windows retain the same attributes in Symbian OS. I was wondering if anyone has a method coded into C++ for modiyfing file attributes, particularly hidden/not hidden...

Many thanks.