Little padlock symbols on icons --why? What does it mean?

Factual Questions
1

Every now and then I have an icon with a little yellow padlock symbol in the bottom left corner.

What causes these? What does it mean?

The most recent case is a simple text file created with EditPad. There’s nothing special about the file. I did nothing (deliberately) to make the lock appear – just wrote a note and hit ‘save.’

I also can’t see that the file is actually locked in anyway. I can open it, edit it, save it again. Padlock remains. I can move the file to a different folder. padlock remains. I can delete the file – the padlock doesn’t show on the file while it’s in the recycle bin – but once I restore it from the trash, the padlock is back.

Though if I ‘copy’ the file to a new folder, the copy doesn’t have the padlock on its icon.

All in all, it doesn’t create a problem using the file, but it makes me wonder what is going on.

Do I have to just let it go as one of Life’s Little Mysteries?
(This is under Win7 64 Home Premium.)

2

The thread has been closed and nobody can post in it.

eta: Or maybe I’m misreading your question. Are you talking about icons on this message board or icons you’re seeing in some program?

3

It means access to that file or folder is limited. You may be able to access it, but some other users cannot.

This page describes how to remove that “lock” icon from folders. I think it’s the exact same procedure for locked files.

4

Thank you! It worked, the padlock is gone.

It doesn’t explain WHY it was there in the first place – I mean, I’ve used EditPad to create hundreds of text files, so why was this particular one locked when the others weren’t? – but I can live with that so long as I don’t have to stare at mysterious padlocks every time my desktop is visible. :slight_smile:

5

It inherited the lock from the folder you originally saved the file to.

6

Um. I originally saved the file to my desktop, the way I do with all my ‘temporary’ notes. And 99.9% of them have never had the padlock appear.

Me, I think it’s cosmic rays causing it. Or possibly global warming.