DirectoryInfo.SetAccessControl(DirectorySecurity) Method

Definition

Applies access control list (ACL) entries described by a DirectorySecurity object to the directory described by the current DirectoryInfo object.

C#
public void SetAccessControl (System.Security.AccessControl.DirectorySecurity directorySecurity);

Parameters

directorySecurity
DirectorySecurity

An object that describes an ACL entry to apply to the directory described by the path parameter.

Exceptions

The directorySecurity parameter is null.

The file could not be found or modified.

The current process does not have access to open the file.

Examples

The following example uses the GetAccessControl and SetAccessControl methods to add and then remove an access control list (ACL) entry from a directory.

C#
using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Security.AccessControl;

namespace FileSystemExample
{
    class DirectoryExample
    {
        public static void Main()
        {
            try
            {
                string DirectoryName = "TestDirectory";

                Console.WriteLine("Adding access control entry for " + DirectoryName);

                // Add the access control entry to the directory.
                AddDirectorySecurity(DirectoryName, @"MYDOMAIN\MyAccount", FileSystemRights.ReadData, AccessControlType.Allow);

                Console.WriteLine("Removing access control entry from " + DirectoryName);

                // Remove the access control entry from the directory.
                RemoveDirectorySecurity(DirectoryName, @"MYDOMAIN\MyAccount", FileSystemRights.ReadData, AccessControlType.Allow);

                Console.WriteLine("Done.");
            }
            catch (Exception e)
            {
                Console.WriteLine(e);
            }

            Console.ReadLine();
        }

        // Adds an ACL entry on the specified directory for the specified account.
        public static void AddDirectorySecurity(
            string DirectoryName,
            string Account,
            FileSystemRights Rights,
            AccessControlType ControlType
            )
        {
            // Create a new DirectoryInfo object.
            DirectoryInfo dInfo = new(DirectoryName);

            // Get a DirectorySecurity object that represents the
            // current security settings.
            DirectorySecurity dSecurity = dInfo.GetAccessControl();

            // Add the FileSystemAccessRule to the security settings.
            dSecurity.AddAccessRule(new FileSystemAccessRule(Account,
                                                            Rights,
                                                            ControlType));

            // Set the new access settings.
            dInfo.SetAccessControl(dSecurity);
        }

        // Removes an ACL entry on the specified directory for the specified account.
        public static void RemoveDirectorySecurity(
            string DirectoryName,
            string Account,
            FileSystemRights Rights,
            AccessControlType ControlType
            )
        {
            // Create a new DirectoryInfo object.
            DirectoryInfo dInfo = new(DirectoryName);

            // Get a DirectorySecurity object that represents the
            // current security settings.
            DirectorySecurity dSecurity = dInfo.GetAccessControl();

            // Add the FileSystemAccessRule to the security settings.
            dSecurity.RemoveAccessRule(new FileSystemAccessRule(Account,
                                                            Rights,
                                                            ControlType));

            // Set the new access settings.
            dInfo.SetAccessControl(dSecurity);
        }
    }
}

Remarks

An access control list (ACL) describes individuals and groups who have, or don't have, rights to specific actions on the given file or directory. For more information, see How to: Add or Remove Access Control List Entries.

The SetAccessControl method applies ACL entries to a file that represents the noninherited ACL list.

Caution

The ACL specified for directorySecurity replaces the existing ACL for the directory. To add permissions for a new user, use the GetAccessControl method to obtain the existing ACL, and modify it.

The SetAccessControl method persists only DirectorySecurity objects that have been modified after object creation. If a DirectorySecurity object has not been modified, it will not be persisted to a file. Therefore, it is not possible to retrieve a DirectorySecurity object from one file and reapply the same object to another file.

To copy ACL information from one file to another:

  1. Use the GetAccessControl method to retrieve the DirectorySecurity object from the source file.

  2. Create a new DirectorySecurity object for the destination file.

  3. Use the GetSecurityDescriptorBinaryForm or GetSecurityDescriptorSddlForm method of the source DirectorySecurity object to retrieve the ACL information.

  4. Use the SetSecurityDescriptorBinaryForm or SetSecurityDescriptorSddlForm method to copy the information retrieved in step 3 to the destination DirectorySecurity object.

  5. Set the destination DirectorySecurity object to the destination file using the SetAccessControl method.

Applies to

Product Versions
.NET Framework 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8, 4.8.1