Sharing Your Files and Printers in Windows

Note: If you are only using your PC to access the Internet, it is highly recommend- ed that you create passwords for your shares.

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Sharing Your Files and Printers in Windows

Overview

By sharing your files and printers, other PCs on your network will be able to access the resources on your PC.

Before sharing your files and printers, you should prepare your computer to be used with any file servers that may be on the network. If you are not using Windows Millennium with an NT or NetWare file server, or if you are not sure if you have a file server, continue below.

If you are using an NT or NetWare file server, see the Appendix for client setup.

Enabling File Sharing

1.	Double-click your My Computer icon. A window of available disk drives
	will appear.
2.	Using your right mouse button, click once on the drive or folder that you
	want to make available to other users.
3.	Click on Sharing, followed by the Sharing tab. Click on Share As.
4.	In the Share Name box, enter a name for the drive or folder you are shar-

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7.When you're done, click on the Apply button, followed by OK. Repeat steps 1-7 for any drive or folder you desire to share on the network.

You have successfully enabled File Sharing on your PC. Your selected drives can now be accessed by other network users. If a user tries to access one of your password-protected drives or folders, he or she will be asked for the appropriate Read-Only or Full-Access password. Continue on if you wish to share your PC’s printer over the network.

Enabling Printer Sharing

1.Double-click on the My Computer icon.

2.Double-click the Printers folder. A window of available printers will appear.

3.Using your right mouse button, click once on the printer that you want to share with other users. Click on Sharing, followed by the Sharing tab.

4.Click on Share As. In the Share Name box, give a name to the printer you want to share. If you want to assign a password to the printer so that only certain users can access it, type a password in the Password box.

5.Click on the Apply button, followed by OK. Your printer(s) are now shared.

ing. This can be any drive or folder on your PC—floppy drive, hard drive,

CD drive, zip drive, etc.

5. Decide on the type of access that you want to give

other users.

• Read-Only access allows other users to view the files on the selected drive or folder.

• Full access allows other users to create, change, or delete files on the selected drive or folder.

•Depends on Password allows other users to have

Read-Only and/or Full access to the selected drive or folder, depending on the password that you decide to give them.

6.If you want to assign access passwords, type the passwords into the Password boxes.

The Printer Sharing setup and installation is com- plete. Your printer can now be accessed by other network users. The printer’s driver may have to be installed on other PCs. Consult your printer’s docu- mentation.

Note: Not all printers may be shared on the network. Others may require special instructions. Refer to your printer’s user guide or contact your printer manufacturer if you think this may be the case with your printer.