How to change file permissions in Windows 10

Step-by-step instructions

Want to make a file read-only? Or maybe you need to limit access to a file for specific users. Windows 10 makes it easy to modify file permissions. Watch the video above or follow the steps below to modify file permissions in Windows 10.

Make a file read-only

1. Right-click the file and select "Properties" in the contextual menu.
2. Select the "General" tab at the top of the window.
3. Click the "Read-only" checkbox next to "Attributes".
4. Click Apply then OK.

Set custom permissions for specific users

1. Right-click a file and select “Properties” in the contextual menu. If you have Windows Explorer open, you can also select a file, click the "Home" tab and select “Properties” in the menu bar, then choose “Properties” from the dropdown menu.
2. Select Edit… to add or remove a group or user. You can check specific permissions for each user too.
3. Click Advanced to change special permissions for the file. Here, you can change the owner and view the basic and advanced permissions for each user.
4. If the options are greyed out, the file has inherited permissions. To remove these permissions, select Disable inheritance then "Remove all inherited permissions from this object".
5. Now you can add permissions for the file. Click Add, select a principal, type the user you want to give permissions to, and click Check Names.
6. Check which basic and advanced permissions you want for the user.
7. After selecting the permissions, click OK then Apply.