@cindex setting modes of files
The functions in this section rename, copy, delete, link, and set
-the modes (permissions) of files.
+the modes (permissions) of files. They all signal a @code{file-error}
+error if they fail to perform their function, reporting the
+system-dependent error message that describes the reason for the
+failure.
In the functions that have an argument @var{newname}, if a file by the
name of @var{newname} already exists, the actions taken depend on the