File Owner Changer: Batch Change Owners for Multiple Files & Folders
What it is:
A utility (standalone app or script) that lets administrators change the ownership of many files and folders at once, rather than updating each item individually.
Key benefits:
- Time-saving: Processes large sets of files in one operation.
- Consistency: Ensures uniform ownership for folders and nested files.
- Permission repair: Useful after migrations, restores, or user deletions.
- Automation-ready: Can be integrated into scripts or scheduled tasks.
Typical features
- Batch selection by folder, file type, or search filters.
- Recursive operation to include subfolders.
- Option to preserve or reset permissions (ACLs).
- Preview or dry-run mode showing changes before applying.
- Logging and undo support for safety.
- Support for local users, groups, and domain accounts (Windows) or UID/GID (macOS/Linux).
How it works (general steps)
- Select target folder(s) or import a list of paths.
- Choose new owner (user or group).
- Set recursion and whether to change owner for files, folders, or both.
- Run a preview/dry-run to review.
- Apply changes; review logs for errors.
Platform notes
- Windows: uses built-in APIs like SetNamedSecurityInfo / icacls or tools like PowerShell’s Takeown/Set-Acl for ownership changes; requires administrative privileges.
- macOS/Linux: uses chown (UID/GID) and may require sudo/root. Permissions and ACL behavior differ by filesystem.
Safety tips
- Run a dry-run first.
- Back up critical data before mass changes.
- Limit operations to specific paths to avoid system file ownership changes.
- Check domain vs. local user name formats on Windows (DOMAIN\user vs. user).
When to use it
- After restoring files from backups with incorrect owners.
- Migrating files between servers or user accounts.
- Preparing shared folders for a new team or owner.
- Fixing permission-related application errors.
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