How to share files with other network computers?
On the computer that contains the files to be shared:
1. Open Windows Explorer by double-clicking My Documents icon OR by following this:
Start>All Programs>Accessories>Windows Explorer.
2. In Windows Explorer, locate the files that you want to share and copy/move them to a folder. You may use existing folder or create a new folder.
3. Point your mouse to the folder that you want to share.
4. Right click the folder name, a menu that contains a list of file
operations appears, click "Sharing and Security", OR
click the folder name, then go to the "File and Folder Tasks" at the left pane of Windows
Explorer, click "Share this folder".
See picture.
5. A folder properties window appears, and the "Sharing"
tab is
already highlighted.
6. In the "Network sharing and security" setting, check the "Share
this folder on the network" checkbox. If the "Share this folder on the network check box" is not available, this computer is not on a network. If you would like to
create a new network, click the Network Setup Wizard link and follow the instructions to turn on file sharing.
See picture. Once file sharing is enabled, begin this procedure again.
7. You may check or uncheck the "Allow network users to change my
files" checkbox depending on your preference.
8. To change the name of your folder on the network, in the Share name text box, type a new name for your folder. This will not change the name of the folder on your computer.
9. Click the "Apply" button, then the "OK" button.
10. Now, your folder is shared with other network users.
On other computers that will access the files:
- Open My Network Places.
- On the left pane under Network Task, click "View workgroup computers".
- On the right pane, double-click the name of the computer that contains the shared files.
- Double-click the shared folder name that appears on the right pane. Then you will see the shared files and now can do any file operations depending on your access right that is determined on step 7 above.
If you will frequently access a particular shared folder, you can map a
drive on your computer to that folder. That way, you don't have to search
for that folder from My Network Places every time you want to access it. It
will be seen as a local drive on your computer and will be available as long
as both your computer and the computer that stores the shared folder are
connected to the network.
Follow these steps to map a drive:
- Open My Computer.
- On the Tools menu, click Map Network Drive.
- In Drive drop-down list, specify the drive letter (use the
remaining letters from A-Z) to map to the shared resource.
- In Folder textbox, type the server and share name, in the
form of \\server name\share name or click Browse.
The server name is the name of the computer that contains the shared folder.
The share name is the name of the shared folder.
- Select "Reconnect at logon" checkbox if you want to reconnect to the
mapped drive every time you log on to your computer. Click Finish.
- In the User name and password dialog box, in User name, type your user
name. In Password, type your password.
- Now, you can see your newly created mapped drive as a local drive on My
Computer. If you double-click the drive letter, you will see the content of
the shared folder.
How to share a printer with other network computers?
On the computer that is connected to the printer to be shared:
1. Open Control Panel.
2. (In Classic View) Double-click "Printers and Faxes" icon. Printer and Faxes
window appears.
3. Point your mouse to your printer icon.
4. Right-click on your printer icon, the printer Properties menu
appears with the "Sharing" tab already highlighted, OR
click on your printer icon, then go to "Printer Tasks" at the left pane of Printer and Faxes
window, click "Share this printer" task.
See picture.
5. Check the "Share this printer" option button.
6. Fill in the "Share name" textbox with a name of your choice. For easy identification, it's a good practice to pick a
name that is associated with the printer type or brand and the PC
it is connected to.
7. Click the "Apply" button, then the "OK" button.
8. Now, your printer is shared with other network users.
On other computers on the network that will use the printer:
- Install the printer drivers.
- From any application (i.e. MS Word, MS Excel, Acrobat Reader, etc.), open the file that you want to print. Select the Print menu (i.e. File>Print). The shared printer will be on the list of available printers.
- Follow the instructions in the menu to print your file to the network printer with your preferred settings.
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