Remove Read Only from files in protected folders

[Diana van den Berg]

I understand that to password protect a folder in Windows XP, that you:

1. zip the file
2. then right-click on the filename
3. Select Explore
4. File
5. Add Password

I understand that:

1. All the files in it are password-protected with the password of the folder
2. To add files to the folder you have to unprotect the folder, put the files in then re-protect the folder

What I don’t understand is:

why the files in the folder are then automatically all Read Only (and not marked as such where one can change it – therefore you can’t make them editable). I don’t see the point if you have to spend time saving them by another name – and obviously somewhere else, because in the protected folder they are Read Only. Even if you then put them back into the protected folder, with the new name and delete the old name, it seems an awful lot of work when one could just password protect each file. What then, is the point of a password protected folder?

Or is there a way of making them NOT Read Only.

[HansV]

Think of the compressed and password-protected folder as an archive (it's actually a .zip file, as you mention in point 1).
To work with a file that's stored in the archive, you have to retrieve it from the archive, edit it, then put it back. You don't work with the files in the archive directly.

(Utilities such as WinZip do let you edit files in a zip file directly)

[StuartR]

If you want to password protect a group of files on Windows XP then I recommend using Veracrypt to create an encrypted virtual disk where you can store them. This will ensure that they remain encrypted even when you are editing them, and that any temporary files that are created and deleted during the edit are also encrypted.

[Diana van den Berg]

Think of the compressed and password-protected folder as an archive (it's actually a .zip file, as you mention in point 1).
To work with a file that's stored in the archive, you have to retrieve it from the archive, edit it, then put it back. You don't work with the files in the archive directly.

(Utilities such as WinZip do let you edit files in a zip file directly)

Thank you, Hans. Is WinZip on Windows XP, or does it need to be downloaded?

[Diana van den Berg]

If you want to password protect a group of files on Windows XP then I recommend using Veracrypt to create an encrypted virtual disk where you can store them. This will ensure that they remain encrypted even when you are editing them, and that any temporary files that are created and deleted during the edit are also encrypted.

Thank you, Stuart.

[HansV]

WinZip is a commercial (non-free) utility that provides additional features for zipping files. 7-zip is a free alternative.
Veracrypt, mentioned by Stuart, is specifically intended for encrypting files and folders, and its free.