Add users to or remove users from a file

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

To add users to or remove users from a file

  1. Open Windows Explorer.

  2. Right-click the encrypted file that you want to change, and then click Properties.

  3. On the General tab, click Advanced.

  4. In Advanced Attributes, click Details.

  5. To add a user to this file, click Add, and then do one of the following:

    • To add a user whose certificate is on this computer, click the certificate and then click OK.

    • To view a certificate on this computer before adding it to the file, click the certificate and then click View Certificate.

    • To add a user from the Active Directory, click Find User, then locate the user in the list and click OK.

  6. To remove a user from this file, click the user name and then click Remove.

Notes

  • To open Windows Explorer, click Start, point to All programs, point to Accessories, and then click Windows Explorer.

  • You cannot add groups to file encryption access.

  • All users that are added to the file must have a certificate located on the computer. For details on how to copy the certificate to the computer, see Related Topics.

  • All users that can decrypt the file must also have access to read the file. NTFS permissions must be set properly to allow this access. If a user is denied access through NTFS permissions, they cannot read the encrypted file and cannot decrypt the data. For more information on setting permissions on files, see Related Topics.

  • When a user is added to a file and their certificate is imported, the certificate's chain is validated to a trusted root CA. The certificate is then stored in the user's Other People certificate store.

Information about functional differences

  • Your server might function differently based on the version and edition of the operating system that is installed, your account permissions, and your menu settings. For more information, see Viewing Help on the Web.

See Also

Concepts

Cipher
Recover an encrypted file or folder without your file encryption certificate
Decrypt a file or folder
Encrypting File System overview
Import and Export Certificates