How to Grant Users Access to an Encrypted File

When you have a user's certificate, you can add that user to the list of users who have access to a file. A user's certificate will be on a computer automatically if the user has logged on to the computer previously.

To add a user whose certificate you have imported to the users who can access a file, follow these steps:

1. Open Windows Explorer and highlight the file you want to receive access.
2. Right-click the file and then select Properties.
3. Click Advanced on the General tab.
4. Click Details on the Advanced Attributes tab to open the User Access dialog box.
5. Click Add to open the Encrypting File System dialog box and then select the user you want to permit to use the encrypted file.
6. Click OK to add the user to the list of users who have access to the file.
7. Click OK until you've exited out of the dialog boxes.

You do not need to grant EFS access to allow users to access files across the network-EFS does not affect shared folders.