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Asked: 2026-06-05T17:11:38+00:00

I have a file called middle.config that is deployed in the same directory as

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I have a file called middle.config that is deployed in the same directory as an exe, but I need to update values in this file. That means that I have to go to C:\Program Files (x86)\ directory to access the file. Although it is named as a .config file it does not follow the usual schema of a .config file. It looks like this:

<configuationSettings>     
  <middleSettings      
   groupName="XYZ"     
   forkName="SomeDbName"     
   dbServerName="123.123.123.123"     
   cnnTimeoutSeconds="30"     
   cmdDefaultTimeoutSeconds="30"     
   cmdMediumTimeoutSeconds="60"     
   cmdLongTimeoutSeconds="480"     
   />     
 <userKeys>     
   <Assemblies value="C:\assemblies\" />     
 </userKeys>     
 <friendlyDbName value="NiceData"/>     
</configuationSettings>

I’m able to read and manipulate the content with Xml, but when I try to save the file back, a “No Permissions” error is thrown. I cannot relocate the file. I’m stuck with this legacy schema so I’m not able to treat it like a normal .config file using ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration. I cannot define sections or groups on this schema (I’ve not been able to anyway). All my users are Administrators on their local machines.

How do I overwrite or delete and replace this file while it is in a protected directory(my assumption about the permissions error)? Failing that, is there a way to access this schema somehow with ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration.

{edit starts here}

There are three applications in this scenario, A, B, and mine C. Application A does not know about any other applications. It can connect to many, many databases, and it drops a single file ‘middle.config’ that contains pointer info to the last database location that was used by the last Application A session. Application B, let’s call it an import/export application, only operates on the last Application A database location. Application B reads the ‘middle.config’ file for database pointer info and then executes console commands against that database. It performs bulk dumps or bulk imports for selected portions of the database.

This was the situation when I come along to build application C that uses the import/export application B to fetch, blocks of data and return them to the database. So, in order for application C to use Application B
against any database, application C must modify the ‘middle.config’ file so that application B will find the correct database. Application C is new and the other two are legacy. I either find a way to make this work, or I force the user to start Application A and point to the database of interest, then close Application A. This is VERY unhandy.

{edit ends here}

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    It is not advisable to write data files to the program files directory, as this requires elevated permissions. Giving a program elevated permissions just to update a config file clashes with the Principal of Least Privilege, which states that

    a particular abstraction layer of a computing environment, every
    module (such as a process, a user or a program depending on the
    subject) must be able to access only the information and resources
    that are necessary for its legitimate purpose

    It’s not a “legitimate purpose” to give the process elevated permissions (that can allow it to do many harmful things) just to update a config file. MS recommended practice is to write that type of data elsewhere.

    Instead, consider storing the config file in a subfolder of the ApplicationData folder.

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