At the moment a file is created, it gets assigned those permissions marked as Inheritable-by-files from the directory it was created in. For the life of that file it will only change permissions if:
- Permissions are changed directly on the file itself
- A change higher up the directory-tree affects one of the Inherited permissions it already has [add or subtracts].
- A change higher up the directory-tree adds or removes an Inherited permission
- Higher up the tree an admin does a "replace all permissions to subordinate objects" push, which overwrites any permissions on the file with those the admin is pushing down the directory tree.
A critical thing to keep in mind is that all NTFS permissions are explicit. An inherited permission is a permission with an 'Inherited' flag set, but it is still that permission. For all but the top bullet point, Windows has to touch every single file below the point the inheritable-permission was changed in order to actually make the change.
This is why if you make a permission change at the top of a 5-million file directory-tree and hit the 'cancel' button in a panic, you have screwed yourself. For that permissions will be inconsistently applied across that 5-million file directory tree and the only way to fix it is to set the permission and let it complete application and then remove it again, or to do a 'force these permissions to everything below me' which'll remove any custom permissions below that point.
Anyway...
As noted elsewhere, moving a file within the same filesystem does not count as a 'create' so it retains whatever permissions it had when it started. A move between filesystems is a 'create' so the file will receive permissions based on where it is moved to.
Most applications consider an 'overwrite' to actually be a 'delete and re-create' which causes the overwritten file to receive inherited permissions based on its location. If the overwrite is actually, 'zero out the file and repopulate with new data' it isn't a create and will retain whatever permissions it had before the overwrite; applications that do this are rare.
What happens to NTFS permissions if you copy or move the files or folders? The answer is: it depends. Read more to learn what happens!
To give you a clearer explanation, consider the following three scenarios. Let’s assume that you are going to copy “D:MyFolder” and let’s assume that “D:” has an NTFS format.
Copying Files between NTFS Partitions
Move D:MyFolder to D:MyFiles
Results:
- The file or folder retains its original NTFS permissions.
- You must have the “Write” permission set up for the destination folder to move files and folders into that folder.
- You must have the “Modify” permission set up for the source file or folder. The “Modify” permission is required to move a file or folder because Windows 2000 deletes files and folders from the source folder after they are copied to the destination folder.
- You become the creator and owner.
Moving Files between NTFS Partitions
Copy D:MyFolder to F:MyFolder
Results:
- The file or folder inherits the NTFS permissions of the destination folder.
- You must have the “Write” permission set up for the destination folder to move files and folders into that folder.
- You must have the “Modify” permission set up for the source file or folder. The “Modify” permission is required to move a file or folder because Windows XP Professional deletes files and folder from the source folder after they are copied to the destination folder.
- You become the creator and owner.
Copying Files