Document Sharing on a Windows XP-based Home Network: No More Floppy Schlepping
Published: July 23, 2001
By Jerry Honeycutt, Windows XP Expert Zone Community Columnist
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Last time out, I showed you how to share a printer on your home network—just like businesses do. If you followed my lead, you now have a printer you can use from any computer in the house. You don't have to blow money on more.
But what's so great about that if you still edit documents on your main computer? What if Junior is using the kitchen computer to play Asheron's Call, but you want to print a recipe for Mom's meatloaf? You either chase him away or find another way to get to the recipe. That other way is document sharing. It makes your home network, not any one computer, the centerpiece of your computing experience.
On a normal day, I edit documents like this article on my desktop computer. It has the big monitor, the fast CPU, and it's loaded with plenty of memory—all great for what I do. But, in the evenings, when I want to work while I'm watching reruns of The West Wing, I like to stick a wireless NIC in my laptop computer, go downstairs, and flop in front of the TV. I still have full access to all my work, though, because I shared it on the network. And, when done, I don't have to copy files from one computer to another using those lame floppy disks.
Raise the Flag
Before you can access documents anywhere on the network, you share the folder that contains them. For example, after creating a folder on my desktop computer called Tunes, I moved my favorite songs into it; then shared it. What might you want to share? Music, home videos, shortcuts to favorite Web sites, letters to the family, and photographs are things that everyone might want to access from other computers in the house.
Sharing a folder is easy enough. First, create a new folder. You don't want to share your My Documents or preexisting folders, since they probably contain files you want to keep private.
To create a new folder
1. | Open a folder in Windows Explorer and then click Make a new folder in the task pane. |
2. | Give the folder a nice, descriptive name such as Family Photographs or Favorite Tunes. Good places to create a folder to share are in My Documents or on your desktop. |
3. | You share the folder using the Sharing tab of the folder's Properties dialog box. Figure 1 shows what it looks like. 
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If you click the Make this folder private so that only I have access to it check box to select it, other users can't access the folder; even if they use the same computer. To share the folder on the network, click the Share this folder on the network check box to select it, then other users can see your files. If you click the Allow other users to change my files check box to select it, other users can edit your stuff.
To share the folder on your network
| • | Right-click the folder, and then click Sharing. |
| • | Click the Share this folder on the network check box to select it. |
| • | In the Share name box, type a descriptive name for the share. This name does not have to be the same as the name of the folder. It's just the name that you'll see on the network. |
| • | If you don't want other users to be able to change your files, making the share read only, click to clear the Allow other users to change my files check box. This is the right thing to do for files such as music and photographs, which you don't want anyone else to change. |
And Then Salute It
After sharing a folder, you use Windows Explorer to access it. You can do that from any computer that's connected to the network. In Figure 2, you see the folders that I shared. One is Jerry's Music and the other is Vacation Photos. Both are available from the kitchen, office, and other computers, so now I can listen to my favorite jams from where ever I trip down memory lane.
In Windows Explorer, your shared folders are buried within My Network Places.
To view shared folders
1. | Click My Network Places, and then click Entire Network. |
2. | Click Microsoft Windows Network. |
3. | Click the name of the workgroup you created when you set up your home network (probably Mshome), and then click the computer that contains the shared folder. |
Browsing the network for a folder is the cheeky expression that describes this process. In a future column, I'm going to show you how to use shortcuts to make network browsing more convenient.
Where Do We Go from Here?
We have all the basics out of the way. You've learned how to set up a home network. You've learned how to share an Internet connection. You've learned how to share a printer, and now you've learned how to share documents. With all this sharing going on, you just got to feel the love in your house—I do in mine.
Next time, I'm going to take a leap and describe how I put all this stuff to practical use: I'm going to start talking about running a network for your home business. I run a home-based business, and you're going to learn how Windows XP supports what I do.
Expert Zone Columnist Jerry Honeycutt is a writer, speaker, and technologist who has written over 25 books, including Microsoft Windows XP Registry Guide (Microsoft Press, 2002). He frequently writes about customizing and deploying Windows XP.
