How To Set Permissions

There are three different ways to set permissions for your files and directories within your account.

1) File Manager, 2) FTP, and 3) Telnet. We DO NOT encourage the use of Telnet if it is only being used for setting permissions and will forego its explanation here.

Setting Permissions Using Your File Manager

Log into your Control Panel and then click on File Manager. You will now see a list of directories within the root of your account. Since all of your html files and subdirectories are uploaded and created within your public_html directory, you need to click on the file folder next to the public-html directory name. The directory will open and in the upper right hand corner, there will be a list of actions that you can perform for that directory. Next click on the file icon located next to the text name of the file that you want to change permissions for. Again, in the upper right hand corner you will see a list of actions that you can perform with this file. Simply click on Change Permissions, select the appropriate permissions and save.

Setting Permissions using Fetch for MAC:

If you have Fetch for the Mac, you have an easy way to change permissions. Go to the file you want to change the permissions on, and highlight it. Under the Remote menu, select Change Permissions. A window will pop up showing the current permissions for the file you had highlighted, as shown in the screenshot below. Click on the boxes to change permissions as needed. (Refer to the Permission Definitions further down this page for an explanation of settings.)

Setting Permissions Using WS_FTP for Windows:

WS_FTP accomplishes the same task as above. Just highlight the file you want to check, and right-click on it. A menu will pop up, then select CHMOD. You will see the window as shown below in the screenshot we've provided. Click on the appropriate settings as needed. (Refer to the Permission Definitions further down this page for an explanation of settings.)

Permission Definitions

Owner = the files users (you)

Group = the files group

Others = others Permissions Definitions

r = read access

x = execute access

w = write access

Numerical Definitions:

r = 4

x = 2

w = 1

You will come to recognize, if you do not already, Chmod as a word used for changing Permissions from within Telnet or your FTP client. Some scripts will tell you to chmod 775 (for example). When using the numeric system, the code for permissions is as follows:

4 + 2 + 1 (rwx) = 7

The first number applies to Owner, the second number applies to Group, and the third number applies to Others. Therefore the first 7 of the chmod 775 tells Unix to change the Owner's permissions to rxw (because r=4 + w=2 + x=1 adds up to 7, this giving the Owner Read, Write, and Execute Permission. The second 7 applies to the group, this giving the Group Read, Write, and Execute Permission, and the last number 5, refers to Others (4 + 1= 5), giving Others only Read and Execute Permission. The permissions for chmod 775 look like this:

rwx rwx -rx.

Permissions are always broken up into three groups of letters, however if there is a dash, this dash simply means that Permission wasn't given for that particular function. For example, in the chmod 775, Permission to Write was not given to Others. Remember: the first 3 letters always apply to Owner, the second 3 apply to Group, and the third 3 apply to Others.

Troubleshooting CGI-bin Problems

Below are solutions to some of the more common CGI script problems.

When I activate my CGI program, I get back a page that says "Internal server error. The server encountered an internal error or mis-configuration and was unable to complete your request." This is generally caused by a problem within the script. Check your script settings again to see that you have entered the correct server information and have set the correct permissions for the script. If this information is correct, you'll need to contact whoever wrote or is distributing the script for further assistance.