I'm getting a "permission denied" error when I try and edit a file. How can I change permissions?

Occasionally web site software or a user on your server will change your file permissions which can prevent your other users from being able to write to your web site files.  Or, conversely your FTP or SSH user account might upload a file without the correct permissions for your software (Wordpress, etc) to run correctly.   When this happens you'll likely see the "Permission Denied" error message. 

Here is how to fix a Permission Denied error:

For SmartVPS accounts:
  • Navigate to VPS -> yourwebsite.com Manage -> Websites
  • When viewing your list of web site details (document root, php version, etc) click the File Permissions Reset link. 
  • Select the user account that you'd like your file to be owned by.  If your website is running a CMS like Wordpress then make sure that user is set to apache
  • Select Reset button and you should be all set.

Note:  This permission reset function makes all files in the document root group writeable, ensures that the web server and all users are in the same group, and changes all file ownership to the user that you selected.

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