need help creating a script to prevent renaming/deleting a folder...

[Sog]

Hi All, Im trying to write a script to prevent my dad deleting/renaming certain folders on his computer as hes getting a bit forgetful and keeps deleting/renaming "special" folders. so I end up having to reconfigure his pc almost weekly. the folders in question are My Documents/pictures/music along with some Ive created (eg Scanned Images). Ive tried delving into folder permissions but that ends up meaning he cant create his own folders etc within the 'locked' ones. is this even possible? Ive tried many search terms here to no avail... Just a pointer in the right direction will be a massive help,

cheers, sog.

(Its a windows xp pro pc)

[GEOSoft]

it can be done with permissions however you may have to play with it a bit. of course it goes without saying to create backups before you try it.

select the folder <for example; pictures> right click it; choose the security tab. click 'advanced' then the effective permissions tab.

be sure delete is unchecked.

check 'delete subfolders and files'

check 'create files / write data'

check 'create folders / append data'

try that and then start playing to see what else may have to be set.

you might also want to consider changing his account from an admin account to a user account. if you do that; make sure to create a new user account for you with admin rights and hide it. set a password on his account and then search the web for the settings to autolog onto his account.

more info is available here

[Sog]

Hi GEOsoft, Thanks for your reply, Ive been playing around with permissions for days (with the help of windows related sites) but it seems it cant be done. I am the hidden admin on his PC, but any combination of settings means either the folder cannot be renamed/deleted but you cant change the contents but any setup that lets him create/modify/delete folders or files within it also means he can delete/rename the folder. he needs admin rights to be able to use some of the programs he uses.

Ive turned to Autoit as this has been a god send to me in the past and is a very powerful tool but cant seem to find the info I need to get started. thanks again for your help but I feel I've exhausted the permissions variations and I'm sure Autoit is the way foreward, cheers, Sog.

(edited spelling)

Edited March 25, 2012 by Sog

[Sog]

Update: it must be something weird with my dads PC configuration as it wont let me select the check boxes needed to do what I want as it automatically selects other boxes preventing him from altering files once they're in the folder (eg, the scanner puts them in the scanned images folder but he cant then crop or rename them, strangely he can delete them or move them out of the folder and then edit them!) I guess I'll try a different tac...

would an Autoit prog that watched folders then popped up a warning msgbox use much of his precious resources?

[Sog]

Found it! posted the day after I searched!

will post my script when complete, then you can all laugh at my bad programming practices lol.

[Sog]

It's very basic but here it is... simply edit/add filepaths to 'C:sogslocker.ini' each path's key should be numbered consecutively

eg,

[ToLock]

1=D:My DocumentsMy PicturesScanned Images

2=D:My DocumentsMy Pictures

3=D:My Documents

#include <LockFile.au3>
If Not FileExists("C:sogslocker.ini") Then IniWrite("C:sogslocker.ini", "ToLock", "1", "D:My DocumentsMy PicturesScanned Images")
$c = 1
While 1
$ini = IniRead("C:sogslocker.ini", "ToLock", $c, "END")
If $ini = "END" Then ExitLoop
LockFile($ini & "~sogsfolderlocker.txt", 1)
FileSetAttrib($ini & "~sogsfolderlocker.txt", "+RSH")
$c = $c + 1
WEnd
While 1
WEnd

Edited April 19, 2012 by Sog