8.2 Sharing Files and Printers
One of the main reasons you might want to set up a workgroup
between two or more computers in your home or office is to share files and
printers between them, eliminating the need to "walk" a disk from one computer
to another.
Once you've established a working network connection with
another Windows computer, as described in Chapter 7, you can start sharing
resources on your computer so that they can be accessed by other computers on
network.
A shared folder, for example, would allow anyone on your
network to read and (optionally) write files to it, as though the folder were on
their own hard disks. This effectively eliminates the need for multiple versions
of documents on which more than one person is collaborating, since any number of
people can open and edit the same document (sometimes even simultaneously). The
primary limitation is that the computer hosting the file must be turned on for
anyone to access it.
A printer physically connected to your computer can be shared
on your network so any computer can print to it. Note that this is not the same
as a network printer, which is connected directly to your network (and not
through a computer).
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Whenever you share a folder, you are essentially
opening a "back door" to your computer, allowing access to potentially
sensitive data. It's important to keep security in mind at all times,
especially if you're connected to the Internet. Otherwise, you may be
unwittingly exposing your personal data to intruders looking for
anything they can use and abuse. Furthermore, an insecure system is more
vulnerable to viruses, Trojan horses, and other malicious programs. This
doesn't mean that you shouldn't use file sharing, just that you'll want
to use common sense if security is important to you. |
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8.2.1 Sharing Folders
Sharing resources is easy, but you'll need to disable the
Simple File Sharing feature before you proceed. Go to
Control Panel
Folder Options
View tab, and turn off the
Use simple file sharing option. Click
OK when you're done.
To share a folder with others on your network, simply
right-click its icon and select Sharing and Security
(or select Properties and choose the
Sharing tab). Figure 8-8 shows a sharing window
for a user's Desktop folder (sharing printers is discussed later).
Select the Share this folder
option to start sharing the selected folder and all of its contents. The
Share name is the name under which the folder
will be accessed from other computers; although the name can be anything, it
usually makes sense to use the default, which is identical to the local name of
the object.
A drive can be shared as easily as any folder. However, if
you're trying to share a drive, and you're using Windows XP Professional, you'll
see that the drive will already appear to be shared. This is called an
Administrative Share, and although it cannot be disabled, it is fairly harmless
(as long as you've properly set up passwords for all your accounts as described
earlier in this chapter). If you want to proceed to share a drive, you'll have
to first click New Share at the bottom of the
dialog. Make any desired changes in the New Share dialog or leave the default
settings, and click OK when you're done. The
new share name you've typed, as well as the default share (such as D$),
will both appear in a drop-down list. Select either share to subsequently modify
its settings.
As soon as you've chosen the desired sharing options, click
OK to begin sharing the folder or drive (and
all of its contents) over your network. When a folder or drive is shared, a
small hand appears over its icon in Explorer.
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The aforementioned Administrative Share illustrates
an interesting, undocumented feature of share naming. If you place a
dollar sign ($) at the end of a share name, it will be hidden when
viewed from all remote computers. The only way, then, to access the
share would be to type its address into Explore's Address Bar. |
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8.2.2 Accessing Shared Resources Remotely
As soon as a folder or drive has been shared, it can be
accessed from another computer. Here's how to access a remote folder:
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Open the My Network Places folder in Explorer, or
double-click the My Network Places icon on the Desktop.
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Expand the branches to Entire Network\Microsoft Windows
Network.
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A branch for each workgroup detected by your computer will
appear in the Microsoft Windows Network folder. For most smaller
workgroups, you'll only see a single entry here, corresponding to the
workgroup name entered in Control Panel
System
Computer Name tab
Change. If all computers in your LAN belong
to the same workgroup, they'll all be listed under the corresponding workgroup
folder here.
Open any computer listed here to view the shared resources
on that computer. In addition to any folders intentionally shared using the
process earlier, you'll also see a Printers and Faxes folder and a
Scheduled Tasks folder.
If you're looking for a particular computer or workgroup,
and it's not shown here, try pressing F5 to
refresh the view. If that doesn't work, use the Search tool to look for the
computer.
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Every user who wishes to access data on a remote computer
(that is, through a local network or VPN connection), must have a user account
on the computer. For example, if you're logged in to a computer as "Mel,"
you'll only be able to access resources on other computers that also have an
account called "Mel" and that have the same
corresponding password. If you have two Windows XP machines, one with a "Mel"
account and one with a "Mel" and a "Bob" account, a user logged in as "Bob"
will only be able to access resources on the second machine.
To restrict access to users, beyond simply removing their
accounts, click Permissions in the
Sharing tab of the object's Properties
window. Note that although this Permissions window is looks and works
identically to the one discussed earlier in this chapter, the permissions set
here only apply to those that access the object remotely, while standard,
local permissions only apply to local users that access the object from the
same machine.
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Continue to navigate the tree and open folders as desired.
Files and folders can be dragged and dropped, documents opened, etc., as
though they were stored on your own hard disk.
The full path to a network resource (called a UNC path, for
Universal Naming Convention) works like a standard folder path, but looks a
little different.
For example, on a computer called "Luke," you might have a
folder called Sideshow, stored in a folder called Obscure References,
stored on drive C:. The Sideshow folder would then be referenced
by this local path:
- c:\Obscure References\Sideshow
But the same folder, when accessed from another computer,
would be referenced by this UNC path:
- \\Luke\Sideshow
What this shows is that only the Sideshow folder is
actually shared. If, instead, the Obscure References folder were shared,
the UNC path to the same Sideshow folder would look like this:
- \\Luke\Obscure References\Sideshow
In neither of the above UNC examples does a reference to
drive C: appear. This is because we're only sharing the folder instead of
the whole drive. If drive C: were shared, the UNC path to Sideshow
would look like this:
- \\Luke\c\Obscure References\Sideshow
Note the absence of the expected colon after c in this
path.
As stated earlier in this section, you'll typically want to
limit the scope of your shared folders. That is, only share those folders you
specifically want shared. In the final example, above, an entire drive is
shared, which means that any file in any folder can be accessed by simply
navigating. Naturally, employing permissions and encryption, both described
earlier in this chapter, will further safeguard your data and the system on
which it's stored.
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In most cases, you'll want to access remote folders
through the My Network Places folder, as
described elsewhere in this section. However, there's another system in
place in Windows XP, included mostly as a holdover from years past.
In Explorer, go to Tools
Select Map Network Drive to map a remote
folder to a virtual drive letter on the local system. For example, choose an
unused drive letter from the Drive list,
such as N:, and then specify the UNC path to an existing network
folder, such as \\Luke\Sideshow. Turn on the
Reconnect at logon option if you want
Windows to re-establish the mapped drive every time you start Windows.
Click Finish when you're
done. A new drive will appear in Explorer, and its contents will mirror the
remote folder you've selected. This is useful mostly for compatibility with
older applications that don't support UNC paths, wherein you can "fool" them
into thinking that they're accessing only local folders.
The other reason one might want to map a drive is to
provide quick access to a remote folder. However, it's typically just as
easy (and often more useful) to create a Windows Shortcut to a remote folder
for this purpose. |
8.2.3 Sharing Printers
As soon as you share a printer, anyone on your workgroup can
print to it.
Using the same procedure as sharing folders, described above,
you can share almost any printer. Go to Control Panel
Printers and Faxes, right-click the printer you
wish to share, and select Sharing. You'll
notice that the Sharing window for printers, shown in Figure 8-9, is much
simpler than its counterpart for folders. Select the
Share this printer option, choose a share name, and then click
OK to begin sharing the printer.
Unlike folders, however, a shared printer must be installed
on each remote computer before it can be accessed. Here's how to install a
remote printer from a computer other than the one to which it's physically
connected.
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Open Control Panel
Printers and Faxes.
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Double-click the Add Printer icon (or, if you have common
tasks enabled, click Add a printer in the
Printer Tasks pane).
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Click Next on the first
page, select A network printer, or a printer
attached to another computer on the second page, and then click
Next.
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On the next page, leave the default setting of
Browse for printer selected, and click
Next.
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On the next page, you'll see a non-standard collapsible
tree, from which you'll need to navigate to the remote printer you wish to
install. Navigation is a little different here than in Explorer; instead of
the usual plus signs, you'll have to double-click branches to expand them.
When you've found the printer, highlight it and click
Next.
If the printer does not appear under the computer to which
it's attached, either the printer has not yet been shared, the computer to
which the printer is attached is not turned on, or the printer's driver does
not support network sharing.
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Some printers can't be shared over a network, which
is usually a limitation of the printer's driver. Most printer
manufacturers will make networkable drivers avialable for their
printers, but some will intentionally disable this feature, especially
for their less-expensive printers. In this case, your only recourse
would either be to purchase a separate print server device, or simply
replace the printer. |
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Click Finish to complete
the wizard.
In most cases, Windows will simply copy the driver files
from the host computer and install them automatically. But if the computer on
which you're installing the printer is not running Windows XP, you may have to
locate different drivers. You can eliminate this step by clicking
Additional Drivers in the Sharing window
(Figure 8-9) of the host computer and preparing versions of the printer's
drivers for other operating systems, such as Windows 9x/Me.
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Assuming all goes well, an icon for the new printer will
appear in the Printers and Faxes window, and you'll be able to print to that
printer from any Windows application. You'll need to repeat these steps for
each computer from which you need to print to the new printer.
Note that the host computer, the one to which the printer is
physically attached, must be turned on and connected to the workgroup, in order
to allow other computers to print. You can overcome this limitation by using a
print server device, which connects most types of printers directly to your
network.
8.2.4 Stop Sharing Scheduled Tasks
As explained earlier in this section, you can access the
shared printers and folders—as well as access the Scheduled Tasks folder—of any
other computer in your workgroup. The problem is that sharing Scheduled Tasks
slows network browsing considerably. Use this solution on each computer in your
workgroup to stop the sharing of Scheduled Tasks and increase your network
performance.
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Open the Registry Editor (discussed in Chapter 3).
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Expand the branches to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\RemoteComputer\NameSpace.
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Under this key, there will be at least two keys named for
Class IDs. The (default) value inside each key will tell you what the
key is for. Find the key for "Scheduled Tasks" (it will be
{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}), and delete it.
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Close the Registry Editor when you're done.
The change will take effect immediately, and you'll notice
that Windows is now much more responsive when browsing shared folders.
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