How do you change the read and write permissions for a file or directory in Linux Mint?

Same as you do in any other distro: with chmod. Read the man page for info on how to use it.

If the file or directory is on a vfat filesystem, such as a pendrive, then you can't change the ownership or permissions on the mounted filesystem. The ownership and permissions are set in the mount command. See the "man mount" and look for the "uid, gid, fmask & dmask" options.

Think i'm going to have to find a very easy to follow tutorial which will show me how i might navigate through the Linux file system and do any changes to files etc. Thanks for the replies

I found this easy to follow:
http://www.cae.wisc.edu/site/public/...issions-change

Could you be more explicit. The man page information is very difficult to understand for people that are just trying out Linux for the first time.

What don't you understand?

Here is a link that explains the Linux directory hierarchy.
http://linuxhelp.blogspot.com/2008/0...-fun-easy.html

You may be able to right click on a file and then change the permissions graphically. ( I don't use Linux Mint. )

The chmod command isn't difficult. There are three sets of permissions. The User, Group, and all Others. There are three fundamental permissions, Read, Write and Execute. The Execute bit needs to be set to run a program. For directories, the Execute but is used to enable you to enter the directory.

Some examples are:
chmod u+rw file
chmod ug+rwx file
chmod o=rwx directory

The "+" plus sign is what you use to turn on a permission bit. The "-" sign is what you would use to turn off a particular permission bit. The "=" will assign the permission bits you indicate exactly, clearing any you didn't select.

I find it easier to read a nicer formatted man page:
man chmod -t | kghostview -

If you don't have kghostview, try a different postscript viewer. The -t option will produce a print quality postscript version of the man page(s). I find this version easier to read. If you used kde, you could enter "man:chmod" in the konqueror web browser. This may work as well for info pages: "info:chmod".