How to create a Drop-box folder on NTFS

I just answered the same question at Experts-Exchange (EE) and found it might be a FAQ for other people, so I post my answer here for your reference. Another consideration is that most people are not EE's Premium Service Members who can access all solutions there for free, so you will not be struggling on Google caches just for digging out a solution from Experts-Exchange.

As I don't have a Windows domain on my home computer, I simply use a Windows XP for illustrating how to implement a Drop-box folder on NTFS, named "Submissions" as an example. It is the exact same method for domain scenarios, except by replacing the users with corresponding domain users. The steps apply to Windows 2003, Windows 2008 and Windows 7, too.

Basically, Administrators have "Full Control" access to the folder "Submissions", Users have "List Folder Contents" and "Write" access to the folder, and CREATOR OWNER has special "Read" access to the folder. All NTFS permissions are shown in the screenshots below.

As the result, Users can list the folder, post files, and read the files they posted, but not the files of each other. Administrators can access all files with Full Control.


Permissions for Administrators


Permissions for CREATOR


Permissions for Users


Advanced Security Settings for Submissions


Detailed Permissions for Administrators - Full Control


Detailed Permissions for CREATOR - Read & Execute


Detailed Permissions for Users - Write


Detailed Permissions for Users - Read & Execute