Windows XP supports three different ways of sharing files:
· The Shared Documents folder
· Simple file sharing
· Advanced file sharing
These three different types are described in the following sections.
Shared Documents Folder
Windows XP Home Edition file sharing is simplified by using a special folder named the Shared Documents folder. This folder is available in My Computer and Windows Explorer. Any file or folder within the Shared Documents folder is automatically shared on the network. You do not have to configure file sharing on separate folders. You only have to either move or copy the file or folder you want to share on the network to the Shared Documents folder.
Simple File Sharing
Windows XP Home Edition supports a file sharing mode known as simple file sharing for folders other than the Shared Documents folder. A computer running Windows XP Professional when it is a member of a workgroup also supports simple file sharing. With simple file sharing, the act of enabling file sharing on a folder and specifying the type of access is simplified to the following choices:
· Whether to enable sharing for the folder
· The name of the share
· Whether to allow network users to change files in the folder
The Sharing tab for simple file sharing is shown in the following figure.
Advanced File Sharing
For a computer running Windows XP Professional (when it is a member of a workgroup), you can optionally disable simple file sharing and enable advanced file sharing, also known as classic file sharing. Advanced file sharing is the file sharing mode used by Windows 2000 and Windows NT 4.0. With advanced file sharing you can specify:
· Whether to enable sharing for the folder
· The share name
· A comment or description for the share
· The maximum number of computers that can connect to the share
· Permissions on the share, which include the list of user or group accounts and their level of access
· Offline folder settings
· If modifying the settings of an existing shared folder, whether to create a new share
The Sharing tab for advanced file sharing is shown in the following figure.
When you click Permissions, the Permissions dialog box is displayed, showing you the current set of permissions for connecting to the shared folder. The types of access are Full Control, Read, and Change, each of which can be allowed or denied. The default shared folder permissions for a computer that is a member of a workgroup are shown in the following figure.
When you click Add, the Select Users or Groups window is displayed, from which you can type or locate the user or group account names to add. If the computer is a member of a workgroup, then only the accounts on the local computer are available. If the computer is a member of a domain, then you can select domain accounts, accounts from domains that are trusted by the domain of the computer, and local computer accounts.
An example of a computer running Windows XP Professional that is a member of a workgroup is shown in the following figure.
For a computer running Windows XP Professional that is a member of a domain, the domain name is listed by default in From this location.
To enable advanced file sharing on a computer running Windows XP Professional (when it is a member of a workgroup), do the following:
Click Start, and then click My Computer.
In My Computer, click Tools, and then click Folder Options.
In Folder Options, click the View tab.
In the Advanced settings, clear the Use simple file sharing (Recommended) check box. An example is shown in the following figure.
Click OK.
For a computer running Windows XP Professional that is a member of a domain, advanced file sharing is the only mode of file sharing.
The following table summarizes the different types of file sharing supported in Windows XP.
Operating System | Supported File Sharing Methods |
Windows XP Home Edition | Shared Documents folder, simple file sharing |
Windows XP Professional (when it is a member of a workgroup) | Simple file sharing, advanced file sharing |
Windows XP Professional (when it is a member of a domain) | Advanced file sharing |
Connecting to a Windows XP Shared Folder
The behavior of connecting to a folder or printer that is shared from a computer running Windows XP depends on whether simple or advanced file sharing is being used.
Connecting When Simple File Sharing is Being Used
For simple file sharing, which includes access to the Shared Documents folder, the set of credentials sent by the connecting client are essentially ignored. All access is based on the status of the Guest account on the computer running Windows XP. The Guest account is enabled by default; however, you cannot use it to logon to the computer. As long as the Guest account is enabled as an account, client computers can access shared folders using simple file sharing.
Connecting When Advanced File Sharing is Being Used
In order to connect to a Windows XP Professional shared folder when advanced file sharing is being used, you must be:
· Using a set of credentials that Windows XP can validate (it is either a local computer account or a domain account) and has been granted the Read, Change, or Full Control access type either explicitly (the account name) or though group membership, as specified in the permissions of the shared folder.
· Using a set of credentials that Windows XP cannot validate, and either the domain Guest account or the local Guest account has been enabled and has been granted the Read, Change, or Full Control access type either explicitly (the Guest account name) or though group membership, as specified in the permissions of the shared folder.
You can be denied access to a Windows XP shared folder through the following:
· The account name in the credentials sent by the connecting client is a valid user name, but the password is incorrect.
· The account name in the credentials sent by the connecting client is a user name that cannot be validated by Windows XP and the domain Guest and the local computer Guest accounts are either disabled or are not specified via the permissions of the shared folder. The domain Guest is disabled by default and the local computer Guest account is enabled by default for computers that are members of a workgroup and disabled by default for computers that are members of a domain.
· The account name and password in the credentials sent by the connecting client can be validated by Windows XP, but either access has not been granted or all types of access are set to Deny either explicitly (the account name) or though group membership.
Enabling File and Printer Sharing
For computers that are running Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Professional that are members of a workgroup, file and printer sharing is disabled by default. If you attempt to share a folder, the Sharing tab contains two links with which you can enable sharing in Network sharing and security. An example is shown in the following figure.
Similarly, if you attempt to share a printer before enabling file sharing, the Sharing tab contains two links with which you can enable sharing. An example is shown in the following figure.
To enable file and printer sharing, you can either click the link to run the Network Setup Wizard or click the link to enable file and printer sharing without running the Network Setup Wizard. When you click the link to run the Home Network Setup Wizard, the Home Network Setup Wizard is run, which asks you a set of questions to automatically configure network settings. The Home Network Setup Wizard automatically enables file and printer sharing.
When you click the link to enable file sharing without running the Network Setup Wizard, you are prompted with an Enable File Sharing dialog box, as shown in the following figure.
Click Just enable file sharing, and then click OK.
When you enable file and printer sharing, you are enabling file and printer sharing using simple file sharing. To enable advanced file sharing on a computer running Windows XP Professional, see the procedure in the "Advanced File Sharing" section of this article.
Sharing a Folder
For a computer running Windows XP Home Edition, you can share a folder or an individual file by copying or moving it to the Shared Documents folder. If you want to create a separate share for a folder, rather than using the Shared Documents folder, right-click the folder in My Computer, and then click Sharing and Security. Alternately, you can click the folder in My Computer, and then click Share this folder in the list of File and Folder Tasks.
From the Sharing tab for the folder's properties, do the following:
· For simple file sharing, click Share this folder on the network and make other changes as needed.
· For advanced file sharing, click Share this folder and make other changes as needed.
To share a folder from Windows Explorer, right-click the folder name in the tree pane, and then click Sharing and Security.
Mapping a Network Drive
It is also possible to create a network drive that appears in My Computer as a drive but is actually mapped to a shared folder. To create a network drive, do the following:
1. Click Start, and then click My Network Places.
2. In My Network Places, click Tools, and then click Map Network Drive.
3. In Map Network Drive, you can specify the following:
· The network drive letter. By default, Windows XP uses the last available drive letter.
· The folder name, which is the combination of computer and share name using \\ComputerName\ShareName. If you do not remember the computer or share name, click Browse and use the Browse window to locate the desired shared folder,
· Whether to automatically reconnect the network drive when you log on to the computer.
· Whether you want to use a different name and password to connect to the shared folder.
An example is shown in the following figure.
4. Click Finish to map the network drive.
5. A window appears displaying the contents of the newly mapped network drive. An example is shown in the following figure.
The mapped network drive also appears in My Computer. An example is shown in the following figure.
Sharing a Printer
Once file sharing has been enabled, you can share a printer from the Printers and Faxes folder by doing the following:
Click Start, and then click Printers and Faxes.
From Printers and Faxes, right-click the printer and click Sharing. Alternately, you can click the printer and then click Share this printer in the Printer Tasks list.
From the Sharing tab, click Share this printer.
If you are sharing the printer with users on computers running versions of Windows other than Windows 2000 and Windows XP and you want the printer drivers for those versions of Windows to be installed automatically, click Additional Drivers. In Additional Drivers, select the versions of Windows being used on the other computers on your network and then click OK.
If the printer drivers for the other versions of Windows are not already installed, you are prompted to insert a floppy disk or CD-ROM containing the printer drivers. Insert the appropriate disk and click OK. The drivers are installed on the Windows XP computer that is sharing the printer.
Click OK.
Connecting to a Shared Printer
There are several ways to connect to a shared printer, including the following:
· From the Add Printer Wizard
· Using Start-Run to open a window containing the shared printer
· Using My Network Places to open a window containing the shared printer
From the Add Printer Wizard
To connect to a shared printer from the Add Printer Wizard, do the following:
Click Start, and then click Printers and Faxes.
From Printers and Faxes, click Add a printer in the Printer Tasks list.
On the Welcome to the Add Printer Wizard page of the Add Printer Wizard, click Next.
On the Local or Network Printer page, click A network printer, or printer attached to another computer. An example is shown in the following figure.
On the Specify a Printer page, you can do one of the following:
· Click Browse for a printer to use a Browse window to locate a shared printer on your network.
· Click Connect to this printer and type the \\ComputerName\SharedPrinterName (in which ComputerName is the name of the computer sharing the printer and SharedPrinterName is the name of the print share).
· Click Connect to a printer on the Internet or on a home or office network and type the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) address of the shared Internet printer.
An example of using the Connect to this printer option is shown in the following figure.
Click Next.
On the Default Printer page, click Yes if you want to make this network printer the default printer. Otherwise, click No. Click Next.
On the Completing the Add Printer Wizard page, click Finish.
The shared printer should now appear in your Printers and Faxes folder. An example is shown in the following figure.
Managing Shared Folders
In Windows XP, you can manage shared folder using the Shared Folders snap-in. The Shared Folders snap-in is used to view and manage your shares, connected computers, and files that are open on your computer by connected computers. To open the Shared Folders snap-in, do the following:
Click Start, click Control Panel, click Performance and Maintenance, click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Computer Management.
In Computer Management, double-click Shared Folders under System Tools.
An example is shown in the following figure.
Using the Shared Folders snap-in, you can view:
· The set of shared folders shared on the computer (the Shares folder).
1. You can also stop the sharing of a shared folder or create a new shared folder.
· The names of the computers that are currently connected to the computer (the Sessions folder).
2. You can also manually disconnect a computer that is currently connected.
· The files that are open by remote computers (the Open Files folder).
3. You can also manually close a file that is open by a connected computer.
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