File permissions - same old story

[Thoric]

I've written an application in LabVIEW 8.6 that launches from CD. It copies a master Real-Time image (taken using the RealTime System Replication Tools) to the user's local PC temporary directory, then edits one of the files in that repository to suit the user's set-up (IP etc.), then flashes the image onto the RT system.

The problem I've got is - I cannot delete the temporary files when I'm finished because the files are all set to read only. Why read-only? Because they were copied from the CD, where they are all necessarily Read-only, and Windows copies that attribute across to the local PC files too. Now, the LabVIEW File Permissions primitive is useless. It won't let me change the read-only flag for the whole folder, just one file at a time. So consequently I cannot delete the folder of temporary files easily.

How can I change the attributes of a complete folder of files from read-only to writeable such that I can then go ahead and delete them? There are literallyhundreds of files here...

Message Edited by Thoric on 06-11-2009 03:40 PM

[Thoric]

No matter. I'm simply recursively listing all files and folders and passing them into the File Permissions primitive within a loop. Unglamorous, but it works.

[Coq_Rouge · Accepted solution]

Try "system exec.vi" and the attrib dos command http://www.computerhope.com/attribhl.htm

[chrisger]

Hi there

LV 8.6 documentation for "Set Permissions Function" states:

Sets the owner, group, and permissions of the file or directory specified by path. This function does not work for files inside an LLB.

Which version is yours LV?

[Thoric]

Hi Coq Rouge - I'm not able to check out your suggestion at the moment, but tell me, does it support recursive application of permissions? I need to set a whole folder of files.

Chris - I believe that supplying a folder path to the LabVIEW function only sets the permissions to the folder, not the contents. I need to change the hundreds of files that are inside the folder also.

[Coq_Rouge]

yes you may use the /D or /S and *.* option

[Thoric]

Fantastic. I'm not a massive fan of using System Exec with DOS based commands, but this will do me just fine 🙂

Thanks!

[TroyK]

I realise this is quite an old thread but I still couldn't find an elegant solution in the LabVIEW forum.

I like to try and store my application information the recommended way, in an ini file in the application public data section.

However, as a number of people have already pointed out, this doesn't work for another user logging in because the OS has only allowed write permissions to the original user.

The System Exec approach seems a bit to untidy to me, unprofessional maybe?

So yesterday I decided to do battle with MS Windows and get file premissions working in LabVIEW (using .NET).

Here is the result of my efforts, I hope it is useful to someone, even if just as example code of .NET for Windows in LabVIEW.

It adds the 'Everyone' identity to the file security and gives it full control.

I tried to put some meaningful documentation in there so if I ever have to go back to it I have some hope of understanding why it's doing what it is doing.

[Thoric]

Well done to you on figuring this out. The beast that is the Microsoft permissions labyrinth is a real pain, I'm sure many will appreciate your efforts here! 

[Abdulaev_Rustam]

very nice job, but in my case it is not fully working: I can only set permissions but not clear them