From: Axel Kohlmeyer (akohlmey_at_gmail.com)
Date: Thu Sep 22 2011 - 07:49:47 CDT

hi ignacio,

2011/9/22 Ignacio Fernndez Galvn <jellby_at_yahoo.com>:
> Hi all,
>
> I normally use Linux, and not Windows, so please forgive if this is something obvious that I should know. The problem with Windows is that when I create some files from within VMD (for instance with the volmap plugin), the file is created by default in the folder where VMD is installed ("C:\Program Files\University of Illinois\VMD" or something like that), and what's worse, the files are created with a padlock icon. The icon itself would not matter much, but it means that the file is not visible from outside VMD, and it cannot be found in a search, or copied elsewhere.
>
> I cannot understand this behaviour, the Windows machine are single-user, the same user running VMD cannot copy the file. So, is there a way to avoid having the files locked, and to remove the padlocks?

this is the time for the famous line: it's not a bug, it's a feature.

please check closely. in my understanding, this would only happen
to files that are held open for writing, e.g. output from an analysis script
while it is still going (or a bad script that doesn't close open files).
this kind behavior is a design choice of the windows kernel, since
Windows NT (which btw _is_ multi-user, even if there is only one
person using it).

as far as i remember (i don't use windows either, but people have
discussed this issue on the list here) writing to the installation
directory can be avoided by first using "cd" on the VMD console
prompt or in vmd.rc to change to your directory of choice.

HTH,
    axel.

>
> Thank you,
> Ignacio
>
>

-- 
Dr. Axel Kohlmeyer
akohlmey_at_gmail.com http://goo.gl/1wk0
Institute for Computational Molecular Science
Temple University, Philadelphia PA, USA.