How to make Word documents 'undeleteable'?

[InIT4theMoney]

We run a Small Business Server 2000 - based system with a mix of Windows XP / 2000 / 98 PCs and various copies of Office XP Pro / 2000 Pro and even 1 copy of 97 Pro. All our users save their docs to various folders on the server. Unfortunately, due mostly to carelessness, files (and even folders) keep getting accidentally deleted from the server by users and we are forever having to restore them from backup. Effective but a pain in the proverbial rear end!

My question is this - how do I make the docs 'undeleteable' but still editable by the users? If I take 'delete' permissions off the users' folders (The standard permissions are full access for the 'everyone' group), Word cannot delete the temporary files it creates in the folders and nothing works.

Hope someone can help.

Ian W

 

[koquito]

on the folders those documents reside, check the security settings and allow the users to, Write, Read but not FULL CONTROL NOR MODIFY

A+, MCP, CCNA
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[InIT4theMoney]

Thanks for the response. My apologies but I've not been clear on what I'm asking I think. Let me re-iterate because I think the problem I'm facing is more complex than I first made out.

All our users work within a single company folder tree on our SBS2000 server. All our users need access to all the documents within it. Users need to be able to create docs at will and also to be able to modify and edit them.

What we want to remove is the ability of any user to delete either files or folders but to leave them with the ability to create and edit files and folders as required.

If a user's 'delete' permissions for a folder or tree are removed, this has the side effect that Microsoft's software cannot delete the various temporary files it creates as it opens a doc. The effect of this ranges from an inability to save the doc to problems with file sharing or even complete crashes of client PCs. And the volume of undeleted temporary files accumulates at a frightening rate

Is there any way of taking away user 'delete' permissions whilst allowing the software to still delete? Or any way of changing the location of the temporary files Word etc writes on opening a file?

Thanks

Ian W

 

[ashpp]

I don't think there is a soltuon to change the location of Words temp files. If you look at -

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=211632.

This shows how Word uses the temp files - basically when you save a file the current version is deleted, and the temporary file is renamed to be the current document. Thus using a different directory for them would be impossible

Ash.

 

[ricpinto]

Why don't you make a memo that they have to copy the file first to their PC before editing and copy it back to the server after editing.

Advantages:
1. Original problem is solved.
2. You have another back up copy of the file (server and PC).
3. If your server is down they can still work if they copied all the related files in their job.
4. Maybe it will ease up the netwok traffic. (I'm not sure!!)

Lastly user will say no to this suggestion..

 

[wbg34]

Make sure you use a group other than everyone for this. Put the applicable users in that group. Using windows explorer right click on the folders that you need to do this on and select properties. Then select security and click on the advanced tab. Add a new policy for the group that you created and deny the delete setting and the delete folder/subfolder setting. Then create a batch script like the following
delete c:\sharename\*.tmp
run the batch script as the administrator each night and it will remove the tmp files.