How to Get File Owner’s Name in Java?

As per the problem statement, we are going to find the file owner name in Java. The owner’s name here represents the owner of the PC in which file is being runned. To find the file owner in Java we will use the getOwner() method of the FileOwnerAttributeView class.

FileOwnerAttributeView belongs to the java.nio class.

Let’s deep dive into this article, to know how it can be done by using Java programming language.

To show you some instances

Instance-1

Suppose the given file location is “D:/saket.txt”.

After checking for Owner name of the given file, the output will be −

The Owner of the file is: LAPTOP-9IH5RA2V\SAKET

Instance-2

Suppose the given file location is “C:/Users/SAKET/Desktop/saket/Work”.

After checking for Owner name of the given file, the output will be −

The Owner of the file is: LAPTOP-9IH5RA2V\SAKET

Algorithm

Step 1 − Take the file path as input.

Step 2 − Create an object having the file attribute using FileOwnerAttributeView class.

Step 3 − Declare try and catch the block to avoid any errors.

Step 4 − Extract the owner name from the file using the getOwner() method.

Step 5 − Print the result.

Syntax

getOwner() − It is used to return or get the current owner of the given file. It belongs to FileOwnerAttributeView class in java.

Below is the syntax of it

file_attribute_object.getOwner()

Multiple Approaches

We have provided the solution in different approaches.

• By Using Static Input.

• By Using User Defined Method

Let’s see the program along with its output one by one.

Note − Executing these programs on any online editor may not give you the correct output. As online Java editors can not access your local system’s file. So to get the expected output, you are suggested to run these programs in your local Java editor which is present in your system.

Approach-1: By Using Static Input

In this approach, the file path will be taken as a static input. Then as per the algorithm get the file owner’s name.

Example

import java.io.*;
import java.nio.file.*;
import java.nio.file.attribute.*;
public class Main {
   //main method
   public static void main(String[] args) {

      // Taking file path as input
      Path path = Paths.get("D:/saket.txt");
      
      // Create object having the file attribute
      FileOwnerAttributeView file = Files.getFileAttributeView(path, FileOwnerAttributeView.class);
      
      // Declaring try and catch block to avoid any errors
      try {

         // Extracting owner name from the file
         UserPrincipal user = file.getOwner();
        
        // Printing the owner's name as a result
         System.out.println("The Owner of the file is: " + user.getName());
      }

      //catch block
      catch (Exception e){
         System.out.println(e);
      }
   }
}

Output

java.nio.file.NoSuchFileException: D:/saket.txt

Approach-2: By Using User Defined Method

In this approach, file path will be taken as input. Then call a user defined method by passing this file path as parameter andas per the algorithm get the file owner’s name.

Example

import java.io.*;
import java.nio.file.*;
import java.nio.file.attribute.*;
public class Main{

   //main method
   public static void main(String[] args) {
      
      // calling user defined method
      func();
   }

   //user defined method
   static void func() {

      // Taking file path as input
      Path path = Paths.get("C:/Users/SAKET KASHYAP/Desktop/saket/Work");

      // Create object having the file attribute
      FileOwnerAttributeView file = Files.getFileAttributeView(path,FileOwnerAttributeView.class);
      // Declaring try and catch block to avoid any errors
      try {
         
         // Extracting owner name from the file
         UserPrincipal user = file.getOwner();
        
        // Printing the owner's name as a result
         System.out.println("The Owner of the file is: " + user.getName());
      }
      //catch block
         catch (Exception e){
            System.out.println(e);
      }
   }
}

Output

java.nio.file.NoSuchFileException: C:/Users/SAKET KASHYAP/Desktop/saket/Work

In this article, we explored different approaches to check the file owner’s name by using Java programming language.