Working with files and directories

Giving a file to someone else

To give a file to someone else, change the ownership of the file with the chown(C) (change owner) command, as follows:

chown new_owner filename

The new_owner argument is the login name of the new owner.

For example, the following command line assigns ownership of 01.intro to the user charles:

   $ chown charles 01.intro

You must be the current owner of a file to change its ownership; that is, you cannot give the file to someone else unless it is yours to give. When you create a file, you automatically become its owner.

Depending on the permissions on a file, if you give away ownership you may give away your right to access the file afterwards.