I'm a Visual Basic developer. I just started developing on Windows XP
and my VB apps do not have permissions to access the the Windows file
system. For example, I'm writing a program that has a function that
deletes files from a directory but XP will not give it access. Any
idea how to change the security setting in XP for applications?

I had a very similar problem to this when I was attempting to program
an ASP page that needed to write and delete files from a directory.

The answer to the problem is as you expected you need to alter the
security settings in such a way that allows this to be achieved.

First of all you need to be signed on as an Administrator in Windows
XP, this is very important!

Now navigate to the folder that you wish to set write/delete access
to.  Right-click on the folder and select properties, can you see the
SECURITY tab?

You need to alter the settings on this tab to change the permissions
of this folder, which should be self-explanatory (just click the box
stating that you wish write permission to be enabled for the
particular user you are interested in).  More information about this
can be found in the references towards the bottom of this answer.

If you cannot see the SECURITY tab (which was my problem) you need to
enable it which is done by going to Tools->Folder Options on any open
window.  On the View tab click the Advanced Settings box; towards the
bottom of the list that appears should be an entry "Use simple file
sharing [Recommended]", you need to CLEAR the check box.  You do not
want to use simple file sharing.  Click OK to close all the windows
and follow the instructions above to alter the write permissions.

More information about the enabling of write permissions in Windows XP
can be found here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/howto/security/accesscontrol.asp

You can find out more about the differences in Windows XP security
settings here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/techinfo/planning/security/whatsnew/default.asp

More about setting file permissions can be seen here:
http://www.microsoft.com/WINDOWSXP/expertzone/tips/september/stevens1.asp
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/using/productdoc/en/default.asp?url=/WINDOWSXP/home/using/productdoc/en/Set_perm.asp

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Request for Answer Clarification by xymox-ga on 07 May 2002 05:55 PDT

Hi, I did everything you said and then some, I gave all users/system
etc full rights to the directory and still no go! I am using the Kill
command in Visual Basic. I'm getting ready to put my program in beta
mode but can't due to this one issue. However, you gave me more
information than anyone and can take the cash. If you have any other
ideas that would be great. Thanks.

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Clarification of Answer by palitoy-ga on 07 May 2002 06:47 PDT

Is the VB application part of a developmental website?  If it is you
may need to alter the read/write access of the directory under IIS
(Internet Information Services).

To do this right-click on My Computer and select Manage, IIS should be
at the bottom of this list.  If you open up the website tree you
should see the Default Web Site tree.  Right-click on this and select
properties again and then click on the Home Directory tab on the
window that appears.  You should see here that it is possible to alter
the read/write properties of the directories as well as the types of
execute permissions that are allowed.

It may be possible to add your VB directory as a virtual directory to
the Default Web Site to enable the correct permissions.  I haven't
tried this myself as the VB I program is solely in a web development
environment now.

It is also possible to alter some of the User ID's and their
permissions via the Local Users and Groups tree within the Computer
Management window that appeared when you followed the instructions
above.

I hope some of this is of use to you.  I know how frustrating this
must be as I have struggled on this myself in the past!

Excellent answer but for some reason I still can't get it to work.

Are you running the program under an Administrator username?  XP only
incorporates 2 options for usernames: Administrator and Limited. 
Limited accounts can do very little in the way of deleting files - I'm
sure this applies to programs run under them also

Hope this helps

Hi,
Your best bet to get the answers you need are on microsofts website
at: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/modcore/html/deovrdatabaserolesuserinformation.asp
You will have to creat user accounts with permissions, the site above
should answer your questions on how to do what you need.
Good luck