How do I change permissions on a file or folder through the Control Panel?

Please note: This support article is a guide for our Linux users only.

The following article explains how to change permissions of files or directories within a website, as well as change the owner and group of the file.

To change the permissions on a file or folder, please follow these steps:

1. Open a browser window and go to www.HostMySite.com.
2. Click on Control Panel Login.
3. Log into the Control Panel as one of the following:
   • Account Administrator and select the appropriate domain
   • Technical Contact for the domain
4. Click on Website Administration and select File Permissions.
5. Enter the path to the file or folder you want to change.
6. Select the permissions you want to give this file or folder.
   • No Access: the file/folder will not be accessible through a browser
   • Read Access: the file/folder will be accessible through a browser
   • Write Access: scripts will be able to write to the file/folder (requires changing the group to www-data)
   • Execute Access: scripts will be able to be executed through a browser
   • Full Control: the user has full control over the file (use caution when setting this permission level since it allows anyone to modify the page)
   
7. Select the owner you want to change the file to:
   • No Change: makes no change to the owner of the file/folder
   • Username: changes the owner of the file/folder to the specified user
   • www-data: changes the owner of the file/folder to www-data (the web user)
   
8. Select the group you want to change the file to:
   • No Change: makes no change to the owner of the file/folder
   • Username: changes the owner of the file/folder to the specified user
   • www-data: changes the owner of the file/folder to www-data (the web user)
9. Click Change Permissions.