Microsoft KB Archive/46174

Word: “Error Writing to Device or Directory” on Novell Network

PSS ID Number: Q46174 Article last modified on 11-02-1994

4.00 5.00 5.50 6.00

MS-DOS

SUMMARY

The message “Error writing to device or directory” is received when running Word on a Novell network in the following instances:

• You are attempting to load the Word program from a directory in which the Novell CREATE right is not included in your effective rights. In this case, an additional “Error creating scratch file” message will be received.
• You are attempting to load the Word program from a directory with full rights, but the MSWNET variable is not mapped to the directory.
• You are attempting to save a file from Word 5.0 or 5.5 to a directory in which the Novell MODIFY and/or CREATE right(s) are not included in your effective rights.
• You are attempting to save a file from Word 4.0 to a directory in which the Novell CREATE right is not included in your effective rights.
• The environment variable “Set tmp=<directory name>” is currently pointing to a nonexistent directory.

You should have all rights, with the exception of the parental right, in your user start-up directories.

MORE INFORMATION

The following rights may be granted or revoked on a Novell network by assigning or deleting “trustee rights” that control an individual user’s ability to work in a directory and its files. With Novell version 2.1 or later, the SYSCON menu utility is used by the system administrator to make these assignments.

Code Rights —- ——

R Read from open files. W Write to open files. O Open existing files. C Create (and simultaneously open) new files. Create subdirectories of the directory. D Delete existing files of subdirectories. Delete subdirectories of the directory. P Parental, which includes the following: Create, rename, erase subdirectories of the directory. Set trustee and directory rights in the directory. Set trustee and directory rights. S Search the directory. M Modify file attributes.

In addition, rights may be added to, or deleted from, a directory’s “Maximum Rights Mask” to control the rights of all users, except those of the supervisor, in a given directory. These are the same eight rights that apply to trustee security. With Novell version 2.1 or later, the FILER menu utility is used to make these assignments.

“Effective rights” are the actual rights of a user, and are determined by the combination of trustee and directory security rights listed above.

The following example shows how trustee rights and directory rights are combined to determine effective rights. The bottom line represents the rights that you, as a user, actually have in a particular directory, given the assignments in the first two lines.

Directory rights: R : W : O : : D : P : S : M :
Trustee rights: R : : O : C : : : S : :

Effective rights: R : : O : : : : S : :

KBCategory: kbother kbnetwork KBSubcategory: Additional reference words: ============================================================================= Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1994.