Lesson 1: User Accounts, Groups, Permissions & Their Role in Sharing

This How-To Geek School class is intended for people who have their own home network with at least one Windows PC or device. The end objective is to give you the knowledge you need in order to set up sharing in Windows and be able to share files, folders, and devices with other PCs or devices in your home network, regardless of the operating system.

SCHOOL NAVIGATION

1. User Accounts, Groups, Permissions & Their Role in Sharing
2. The Basic Concepts in Network Sharing
3. Customizing Your Network Sharing Settings
4. Sharing with Others Using the Public Folder
5. Sharing With the Homegroup
6. Sharing With the Network Using the Sharing Wizard
7. Sharing with the Network Using Advanced Sharing
8. How to Work With Network Drives & Network Locations
9. How to Share Devices With Others On the Network
10. How to View & Access What’s Shared on the Network

In this first lesson you will learn what a user account is and what the most important characteristics of a user account are. Then, we will go into detail about the types of user accounts that are available in Windows and what’s different from this perspective in Windows 8 versus Windows 7. As you will see, the newest versions of Windows have added new user types that are very different than what you have been accustomed to in the past.

Next, we will explain the concepts of user groups and permissions. As you will see, these concepts are important when sharing with others on the network.

Last but not least we will explain the benefits of using a Microsoft account in Windows 8, related to network sharing.

Let’s get started!

What is a User Account?

A user account is a collection of settings and information that tells Windows which files and folders you can access, what you can do on your computer, what are your preferences, and what network resources you can access when connected to a network.

The user account allows you to authenticate to Windows or any other operating system so that you are granted authorization to use them. Multi-user operating systems such as Windows don’t allow a user to use them without having a user account.

In Windows, you can manage your computer’s user accounts by going to the “Control Panel” and then to “User Accounts and Family Safety > User Accounts.”

A user account in Windows is characterized by the following attributes:

• User name – the name you are giving to that account.
• Password – the password associated with the user account (in Windows 7 or older versions you can also use blank passwords).
• User group – a collection of user accounts that share the same security rights and permissions. A user account must be a member of at least one user group.
• Type – all user accounts have a type which defines their permissions and what they can do in Windows.

Windows 7 User Accounts

Windows 7 and earlier versions has three important types of accounts:

Administrator

The “Administrator” user account has complete control over the PC. He or she can install anything and make changes that affect all users of that PC.

Standard

The “Standard” user account can only use the software that’s already installed by the administrator and change system settings that don’t affect other users.

Guest

The “Guest” account is a special type of user account that has the name Guest and no password. This is only for users that need temporary access to the PC. This user can only use the software that’s already installed by the administrator and cannot make any changes to system settings.

Windows 8 User Accounts

Windows 8 introduces two new types of user accounts, alongside those already in Windows 7:

Microsoft account

Microsoft accounts are user accounts with an associated e-mail address that give you access to all Microsoft products and services. They always have password that’s not blank. If you are using an outlook.com e-mail address (let’s say howtogeek@outlook.com), you have a Microsoft account with that address.

To further complicate things, Microsoft allows people to create Microsoft accounts using third-party e-mail services like Gmail. To simplify things for you, remember that you have a Microsoft account when you use an email address to log into Windows or to any Microsoft product or service.

Microsoft accounts work on multiple systems and devices. Therefore you can use the same account to log into all your Windows 8.x devices, your Xbox One console and your Windows Phone. You don’t have to create a separate account for each device.

Microsoft accounts can be administrators or standard user accounts.

Local account

Local accounts are classic user accounts that exist locally and can use blank passwords. For example, in Windows 7 all user accounts are local accounts. Local accounts can be administrators or standard user accounts. They work on a single system only, so if you do have multiple devices, you’ll have to create a separate account for each.

User accounts provide the added benefit of letting you share the same computer with several people, while having your own files and settings. Each person accesses his or her user account without interfering with others.

How to tell them apart?

In Windows 8.x you can quickly differentiate local user accounts from Microsoft accounts by looking at whether they use an email address or not. Look at the screenshot below, sharing the Manage Accounts window, which is accessed by going to “Control Panel > User Accounts and Family Safety > User Accounts > Manage Accounts.”

The first account, named Ciprian Rusen, is a Microsoft account. All the other user accounts are local accounts. The Microsoft account is an administrator, which is marked by the “Administrator” statement beneath its email address. All other user accounts are standard user accounts because they do not have the “Administrator” statement.

What is a User Group?

As mentioned earlier, the user group is a collection of user accounts that share the same security rights and permissions.

Keep Reading…

Lesson 1: User Accounts, Groups, Permissions & Their Role in Sharing

Windows has a long list of predefined user groups which includes “Administrators” and “Users.” However, most predefined user groups do not have user accounts until the administrator or third-party apps start customizing them. User groups can also be created by third-party software and services like virtual machines which create hidden user accounts and groups in order to provide different features or services.

A user account is a member of at least one user group while some user accounts are members of two groups or more, depending on how they are set.

For example, all user accounts that are set as administrators will be part of the “Administrators” group. Standard user accounts are part of the “Users” group. However, both types of user accounts will become members of the “HomeUsers” group, when you start using the Homegroup networking feature in Windows.

User groups are managed automatically by Windows and you won’t need to fiddle with them, even though you can if you are an administrator. This concept is important so that you better understand how file sharing works, how permissions are assigned, etc.

What are File & Folder Permissions?

Permissions are a method for assigning access rights to specific user accounts and user groups. Through the use of permissions, Windows defines which user accounts and user groups can access which files and folders, and what they can do with them. To put it simply, permissions are the operating system’s way of telling you what you can or cannot do with a file or folder.

To learn the permissions of any folder, right click on it and select “Properties.” In the Properties window, go to the Security tab. In the “Group or user names” section you will see all the user accounts and use groups that have permissions to that folder. If you select a group or a user account, then see its assigned permissions, in the “Permissions for Users” section.

In Windows, a user account or a user group can receive one of the following permissions to any file or folder:

• Read – allows the viewing and listing of a file or folder. When viewing a folder, you can view all its files and subfolders.
• Write – allows writing to a file or adding files and subfolders to a folder.
• List folder contents – this permission can be assigned only to folders. It permits the viewing and listing of files and subfolders, as well as executing files that are found in that folder.
• Read & execute – permits the reading and accessing of a file’s contents as well as its execution. When dealing with folders, it allows the viewing and listing of files and subfolders, as well as the execution of files.
• Modify – when dealing with files, it allows their reading, writing and deletion. When dealing with folders, it allows the reading and writing of files and subfolders, plus the deletion of the folder.
• Full control – it allows reading, writing, changing and deleting of any file and subfolder.

Generally, files inherit the permissions of the folder where they are placed, but users can also define specific permissions that are assigned only to a specific file. To make your computing life simpler, it is best to edit permissions only at a folder level.

Why are Permissions Important to Sharing in Windows?

Permissions are important because when you share something in Windows, you actually assign a set of permissions to a specific user account or user group. A shared folder can only be accessed by someone with a user account that has the permission to access that folder.

For example, when using the Sharing Wizard, you choose the user name or the user group and then one of these two permission levels:

• Read/Write – it is the equivalent of the “Modify” permission level.
• Read – it is the equivalent of the “Read & execute” permission level.

When using the Sharing Wizard you will also see a permission level named “Owner.” This is not a permission level per-se. It just signals that the folder you are about to share is owned by the user account for which you see this entry. An owner has full control over that folder. You will learn more about the Sharing Wizard and how to use it in lesson 6.

When using advanced sharing, you can assign one of these three permission levels:

• Full Control – it allows reading, writing, changing, and deleting of any file and subfolder.
• Change – it is the equivalent of the Modify permission level.
• Read – it is the equivalent of the Read & execute permission level.

When sharing resources with the network, you will encounter a special group that’s named “Everyone.” This user group stands for anyone with or without a user account on the computer who is sharing the resource with the network. As you will learn in future lessons, this user group is very useful when you have a network with very diverse devices and operating systems. Advanced sharing will be explained in detail, in lesson 7.

Why is it Useful to Use a Microsoft Account in Your Network?

Using a Microsoft account has both benefits (e.g. the ability to sync all your apps and settings across multiple devices) and downsides (e.g. you will give more data to Microsoft). From a network sharing perspective, using a Microsoft account can be useful if you have a network with many PCs and devices with Windows 8.x:

• You log in with the same Microsoft account on all your devices, using the same credentials.
• You don’t have to create separate local accounts on each computer or device with Windows 8.x.
• Setting up permissions when sharing is easier because you don’t have to deal with multiple local user accounts.
• Accessing network shares is also easier because you log in with the same user account everywhere and you can quickly access everything that’s shared with it.

If you have a very diverse network that includes Macs, Chromebooks or Linux PCs alongside Windows, then using a Microsoft account doesn’t provide any special benefits from a network sharing perspective.

Coming up next …

That’s it for this lesson. For the remainder of this series, we will concentrate on the following areas:

Lesson 2: This lesson explains concepts like the workgroup, the computer name, the IP address, the network location and the Homegroup. You will learn what they are and their role in network sharing.

Lesson 3: We cover in detail all the network sharing settings available in Windows and how to set them according to your needs. Also, you will learn how to change the network location so that you get access to network sharing features only when they are needed.

Lesson 4: This lessons explains the Public folder and its role in network sharing. After learning how it can be used and when, you can decide whether it makes sense to use it or not.

Lesson 5: We continue our coverage of the Homegroup and we explain in detail how to use it to share with others on the network.

Lesson 6: Windows includes the Sharing Wizard that can be used to sharing any folder you want, as fast as possible. This lesson shares everything you need to know about using it.

Lesson 7: If you are a geek or an IT professional that needs to share folders and devices using more advanced permissions, you should use Advanced Sharing. This lessons shares everything you need to know about using it.

Lesson 8: Mapping network drives is an easy way of accessing folders shared by others on the network. This lesson explains how to map a shared folder from the network.

Lesson 9: You will surely need to share devices such as printers with others on the network. This lesson is focused on explaining how to share devices with others on the network.

Lesson 10: The last lesson is all about accessing shared folders and network resources.

Next Page: The Basic Concepts in Network Sharing

Lesson 10: How to View & Access What’s Shared on the Network

For the last lesson in this Geek School series, we will talk about accessing everything that’s shared on the network.

SCHOOL NAVIGATION

1. User Accounts, Groups, Permissions & Their Role in Sharing
2. The Basic Concepts in Network Sharing
3. Customizing Your Network Sharing Settings
4. Sharing with Others Using the Public Folder
5. Sharing With the Homegroup
6. Sharing With the Network Using the Sharing Wizard
7. Sharing with the Network Using Advanced Sharing
8. How to Work With Network Drives & Network Locations
9. How to Share Devices With Others On the Network
10. How to View & Access What’s Shared on the Network

We will start by showing how to view and access what’s shared by others on the Homegroup, both in Windows 7 and Windows 8.x. Even though the steps involved are a little bit different, the basic principles are the same in both operating systems.

Then, we will explain how to access everything that’s shared on the network, even from computers that do not have Windows installed or that are not part of the Homegroup.

In the second half of this lesson you will learn how to monitor what you are sharing with the network and who is accessing what you are sharing.

Last but not least, we will close with a nice tip just for Windows 7 users. This operating system includes a small but nice networking feature which is not available in Windows 8.x.

How to View What is Shared With the Homegroup in Windows 8.x

To view everything that is shared with the Homegroup in your network, open File Explorer. Then, expand the “Homegroup” section. Here you will see all the user accounts sharing something with the Homegroup from computers that are part of the Homegroup.

One user account may exist on multiple computers so don’t worry if the number of users is not the same as the number of computers that are part of your Homegroup.

If you double-click or double-tap a user account, you see a list with all the Windows computers and devices where this user exists and it shares something with others. For example, we use the same Microsoft account on three of the computers that are found in my home network. For each computer, we see what we are sharing with others in the Homegroup.

The list of shared folders and resources differs from computer to computer. To access something that is being shared, double-click or tap on it.

How to View What is Shared With the Homegroup in Windows 7

Windows 7 displays what is being shared with the Homegroup in a slightly different way. First, open Windows Explorer and go to the “Homegroup” section.

There you will see all the user accounts and the computers that are sharing something with the Homegroup. Unlike Windows 8.x operating systems, here you will see each user account with an entry for each PC or device where it is used. For example, in the screenshot below you can see three entries for Ciprian Rusen, one for each computer using that account.

To access what is shared with the Homegroup by one user on a specific computer, double-click the appropriate entry. You can now view and work with what is being shared, depending on the permissions that were set when sharing with the Homegroup.

How to View What is Shared With the Network

Accessing what is shared with the network works the same in both Windows 7 and Windows 8.x. Open Windows Explorer in Windows 7 or File Explorer in Windows 8.x and go to the Network section.

Here you will see a network with all the computers and devices that are part of your network, which are turned on at that time. While the “Homegroup” section explained earlier only displays computers that are part of the Homegroup, the “Network” section displays all the computers that are part of your network and use the same Workgroup setting.

If you need a refresher about the Workgroup, please read Lesson 2. If you have Macs or Linux computers on your network, you will see them listed only in the “Network” section.

Below the list of network computers, most probably you will see a list of media devices you can access.

If you double-click or double tap a computer from your network, you will see what that computer is sharing with the network. To access any of its shared resources, double-click or double-tap on it.

If a network computer is not sharing resources with your user account, then the “Windows Security” prompt will be shown. You will be asked to enter the details of a user account that has access to the shared resources on that computer, before you can see what it is sharing with the network.

In the “User name” field, type the name of the network computer you are trying to access, followed by “\” and then the user account.

For example, “Computer1\HowToGeek” translates to: the computer named “Computer1” and the user name “HowToGeek”.

If you are using a Microsoft account, type the e-mail address of that user account. Then, type the password in the appropriate field and check whether you would like Windows to remember your credentials. When done, press “OK” and your will be able to access that computer’s shared resources.

If you double-click or double-tap a media device in the “Networks” section, Windows Media Player is opened. You will be able to use it for streaming the media libraries of the computers that are sharing them with the network and have made them available for streaming. Windows Media Player will be able to play their music, videos, pictures and recorded TV.

How to Monitor Your Shares, Active Sessions and Open Files with Computer Management

If you are not using Windows 7 Home Premium or earlier, the core edition of Windows 8.x or Windows RT, then you can use the “Computer Management” tool to monitor what you are sharing with others on the network, the users that have connected to your computer through the network and the files they have opened. Even though this tool exists in these Windows versions, it doesn’t include the management tools mentioned in this lesson.

For those of you that do have the required versions of Windows, go to Control Panel and then to “System and Security > Administrative Tools”. Here you will find several shortcuts including one named “Computer Management”. Double-click or double-tap on it.

Below you can see how the Computer Management tool looks like. As you will see, it includes many useful features.

Keep Reading…

Lesson 10: How to View & Access What’s Shared on the Network

To manage your shared folders, expand the “Shared Folders” section. Here you will find three subsections: Shares, Sessions and Open Files.

In the “Shares” section you will see all the resources you are sharing with the network, their name and folder path. Having this view is very useful as you may be sharing more than you think. If you see something that you no longer want to share, use what you learned in Lessons 6 and Lesson 7 to stop sharing resources with the network.

Before we move on to the next subfolder, there’s something else that you should keep in mind: in this list you will see all your drives as being shared. They have a special name like C$ or D$. These are hidden administrative shares created automatically by Windows.

You will see that they also have a different icon. These hidden shares are used in network domains and network administrators get access to them. You cannot make these shares go away but also you do not have to worry about them. Because they are hidden, they are not visible as shared resources to others on the network.

Next, go to the “Sessions” subfolder. Here you will see the users that are currently accessing your computer through the network. For each session you see the user, the computer from which it is connecting, the type of operating system being used, and the number of opened files, for how long he or she is connected and how long the session was idle.

In the “Open Files” subfolder you can view all the open files and folders from all the sessions that are active on your computer.

How to Monitor Your Shares, Active Sessions and Open Files with Third-Party Tools

If you are using Windows 7 Home Premium or earlier, the core edition of Windows 8.x or Windows RT, you cannot use the Computer Management tool to monitor what you are sharing and the active sessions on your computer. However, you can use third party tools like Net Share Monitor.

The trouble with this specific tool is that, when you install it, it tries to download and install unwanted toolbars. However, it does have a portable version that’s found in the archive you will download from their website.

After you extract its content, look for the “Portable Version” subfolder and run NetShareMonitor.exe from there. This will make sure that you avoid installing the crapware that’s bundled with it!

You should run this application as an administrator, meaning that you have to right-click on it and select “Run as administrator”. Otherwise the application will run but it will not show any useful data.

Net Share Monitor has three tabs that emulate what is being shown in “Computer Management: Active Sessions”, “Accessed Files” and “Shared Files”.

In the “Active Sessions” tab you will see the user accounts that are connected to your computer, from where they connected, when they connected, how many files they have opened, how long their session has been active, and how long it has been idle.

In the “Accessed Files” tab you will see all the folders and files that are opened during the active sessions listed in the previous tab.

In the “Shared Files” tab you can see all the resources that are shared with the network, including hidden administrative shares you have no control over.

How to View a Map of Your Home Network in Windows 7

If you are using Windows 7, you can use a nice visual map of your network and the devices that are part of it. To view it, you must go to the “Network and Sharing Center”, using the instructions shared in Lesson 3.

Look at the top-right corner of the “Network and Sharing Center” and you will notice a link that says “See full map”.

Click on it and wait for a couple of seconds. Windows 7 will load a map of your network with all the devices that are part of it and turned on at that time.

If you hover the mouse over any device, you can see its name, IP address and MAC address.

This map can provide a good view of how your home network is set up and you can use it to quickly learn details like the IP address of a PC or another.

Conclusion

We have reached the end of the How-To Geek School’s Guide to Sharing Folders, Libraries & Devices in Windows.

We have covered a lot of ground and we hope that you have learned something new and useful. If you missed any part of this series, or simply want to review something again, you can easily do so by clicking any of the links in the table of contents at the beginning of the article.

Thank you for being great students!

Lesson 2: The Basic Concepts in Network Sharing

In this lesson you will learn several networking concepts: the workgroup, the computer name, the IP address, the network location and the Homegroup. Our objective is for you to understand what these concepts are and what their role in network sharing is.

SCHOOL NAVIGATION

1. User Accounts, Groups, Permissions & Their Role in Sharing
2. The Basic Concepts in Network Sharing
3. Customizing Your Network Sharing Settings
4. Sharing with Others Using the Public Folder
5. Sharing With the Homegroup
6. Sharing With the Network Using the Sharing Wizard
7. Sharing with the Network Using Advanced Sharing
8. How to Work With Network Drives & Network Locations
9. How to Share Devices With Others On the Network
10. How to View & Access What’s Shared on the Network

Even though the workgroup is a very old concept that may not seem relevant in today’s operating systems, it is still important and it can negatively impact your networking experience. That’s why we will explain it in detail.

While you may already know what a computer name and IP address are, you may not fully understand the concept of network locations that was introduced in Windows 7. As you will see in this lesson, the location you assign to a network has a great impact on your network sharing experience. With only one setting you completely change the way you can or cannot do sharing.

The Homegroup is another subject that doesn’t seem to be easily understood by users. Even though it is simple to set up and, not that many people understand why they should use it and how. In this lesson we will explain the basics about the Homegroup while in future lessons we will share in detail how it works.

Without getting these basics right, you won’t be able to successfully share folders and devices, especially when you have multiple operating systems in your network. Let’s get started.

What is a Workgroup?

The workgroup is a collection of computers that are part of the same network. All the computers are peers and do not have control over another computer. The workgroup facilitates the detection of the computers that are part of it and the sharing of resources like folders or printers.

Workgroups are not protected by the use of a password and they can be created only for computers that are part of the same local network. They are designed for small networks like those found in your home or small businesses. According to Microsoft, there should not be more than 20 computers in the same workgroup, so that the management of the network doesn’t get too complicated.

The workgroup can be joined by computers with diverse operating systems. You don’t have to have the same operating system or the same version in order to use this feature.

How to Learn Whether Your PC is Part of a Workgroup

By default, all Windows computers are part of a workgroup named WORKGROUP. Therefore, when setting up your network, you should not need to configure this setting.

However, you can double check that your Windows PC or device is part of a workgroup by going to “Control Panel > System and Security > System”. There you will find a section named “Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings”.

Look for the entry named “Workgroup”.

What is the Computer Name?

Every operating system asks you to give a computer name when you install it on a PC or device. Windows is no exception to this rule. That’s because this name is important to identify the computer when it is part of a network.

Your computer’s name can be learned by going to “Control Panel > System and Security > System”. There you will find a section named “Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings”. Look for the entry named “Computer name”.

In order to successfully join a workgroup and use all the available network sharing features, your computer must have a unique computer name. This name should have a maximum of 15 characters and should not include spaces or special characters like : \ * , . ” or @.

What is the IP Address?

When you connect to a network, you will always receive an IP address. IP address means “Internet Protocol” address and it is a numerical label for your computer. This concept is similar to the computer name in the sense that it is used to identify your PC or device on the network and provide a unique address where other computers or devices can find it.

IP addresses are binary numbers but they are displayed in human-readable notations, such as 192.168.0.2. In a home network, the IP addresses are automatically given to every device or PC by the router, when the network connection is established.

There are several ways to learn the IP address of your computer. The simplest way that works in all versions of Windows is to open the “Command Prompt”. Open a Run window by pressing “WIN + R” on your keyboard, type “cmd” and press “Enter”.

Then, type the “ipconfig” command and press Enter. A list is displayed with all your network adapters and their properties. For each network adapter, there is a field named IPv4 Address, displaying its IP address.

If you are using multiple network cards or virtualization software, make sure that you look at the network device that’s connected to your home network. There you will see the IP address you have for your active network connection.

Keep Reading…

Lesson 2: The Basic Concepts in Network Sharing

While browsing the network, you can find computers by using both their IP address and their computer name. For example, you can open the “Run” window in Windows by pressing “WIN + R” on your keyboard. Then, type \\ followed by the name of a computer in your network or its IP address.

After pressing “Enter”, you will see the same thing: that computer’s shared folders and devices.

What is the Network Location?

A network profile or network location is a collection of network and sharing settings that are applied to your active network connection.

Each time you connect to a new network in Windows 7, you are asked to select a location for it. The available choices are home, work and public.

Depending on the location you assign, features such as file and printer sharing, network discovery, and others might be turned on or off. When creating your own home network, you should always choose “Home network”.

In Windows 8.x, you have only two profiles: private and public. When connecting to a new network, you are asked to decide whether you want to find PCs, devices, and content on your network.

If you are connecting to your home network or a network you trust, select “Yes” and the private network profile is activated for that connection.

Network locations are very useful on laptops and tablets. If you travel a lot, you will connect to a lot of different networks. With one simple setting, Windows will automatically adjust the location assigned to each network connection and all the relevant network sharing settings.

How to Learn the Active Network Location

If you would like to learn what location is assigned to your active network connection, open the “Control Panel”, and go to “Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center”.

In the middle of the window, there is a section named “View your active networks” where you will see the name of the network and the location assigned to it.

Remember, in Windows 8.x you will see only one of two values for the network location (“private network” or “public network”) while in Windows 7, you will see only one of three values (“home network”, “work network” or “public network”).

What is the Homegroup?

The Homegroup is a networking feature introduced in Windows 7 and continued in Windows 8.x.

A Homegroup’s purpose is to easily facilitate the sharing of files and printers with other people on a home network. This feature doesn’t work on public or business networks because it is designed specifically for home users. This means that you can create or join a Homegroup only if the profile for your active network connection is set as “home” in Windows 7 or “private” in Windows 8.x.

In order for a computer to join a Homegroup, it must first be a member of the same “workgroup” as the other computers in the Homegroup. The Homegroup is protected with a password but you need to type it only when first joining it.

As you will see in lesson 4, setting up sharing with the Homegroup is much faster than traditional network sharing in Windows Vista or Windows XP.

How to Learn Whether Your Computer is Part of a Homegroup

If you would like to learn whether your PC or device is part of a Homegroup, open the “Control Panel” and go to “Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center”.

In the middle of the window, there is a section named “View your active networks”.

There you will find a line named HomeGroup. If it says “Joined” near it, then your computer is part of a Homegroup.

If it says anything else, than your computer is not part of the Homegroup.

Coming up Next …

We hope that you have enjoyed today’s lesson and that you understood the networking concepts we have shared.

In Lesson 3 we will discuss the default network sharing settings that are found in Windows and how to customize them when required.

Next Page: Customizing Your Network Sharing Settings

Lesson 3: Customizing Your Network Sharing Settings

The objective for this lesson is to explain all the network sharing settings that are available in Windows and what they do. It sounds simple, isn’t it? But unfortunately it is not.

SCHOOL NAVIGATION

1. User Accounts, Groups, Permissions & Their Role in Sharing
2. The Basic Concepts in Network Sharing
3. Customizing Your Network Sharing Settings
4. Sharing with Others Using the Public Folder
5. Sharing With the Homegroup
6. Sharing With the Network Using the Sharing Wizard
7. Sharing with the Network Using Advanced Sharing
8. How to Work With Network Drives & Network Locations
9. How to Share Devices With Others On the Network
10. How to View & Access What’s Shared on the Network

As you will see, there are plenty of sharing settings available. Some are easy to figure out, while others not so much. Also, Windows 8.x introduces a new setting that’s not documented anywhere. In order to make sense of it and what it does, we had to perform plenty of experimentation. But we did get the hang of it and we can explain it to you, so that you can set things correctly.

Another topic we cover in this lesson is how to change the location assigned to the active network connection. As you will see, with one simple change Windows reconfigures all the available network sharing settings. Therefore it is important to understand when you should change the network location and how.

At the end of this lesson you will know how to configure the network profile and the network sharing settings so that you turn on only the features that you need to use on your network.

Let’s get to work!

Where to Find the Network Sharing Settings in Windows

Windows 7 and Windows 8.x have the same network sharing settings. They are found in the same place, but their order is different and so is their grouping.

To find them, go to the “Control Panel > Network and Internet” and then to “Network and Sharing Center”. This window is very important when it comes to setting up your network connections and network sharing. Here you will find the options for changing your network adapter settings, a link to all network sharing settings, and wizards for setting up new connections or troubleshooting problems.

To access your network sharing settings, click or tap the “Change advanced sharing settings” link on the left column.

Now you will see a list with all the available network sharing settings that are found in Windows, grouped by network location.

Changing the Default Sharing Settings

As we mentioned earlier, these settings are displayed in a different order, depending on the Windows version you are using.

Windows 7

In Windows 7, all the settings are grouped under two categories: “Home or Work” and “Public”. This splits all the network sharing settings in groups according to the three network locations available in Windows 7 (to learn more about network locations, read Lesson 2).

You will see a line that says “current profile”, telling you which network location is assigned to the active network connection. The settings found in that profile will apply to your active network connection and not the others.

If you click the arrow next to each profile type, you can expand each of these groups, you will see that they include the same network sharing settings except “HomeGroup connections”,which is available only for the “Home or Work” network locations.

You will also see that each setting has different values for different locations. That is great because it allows Windows to quickly adjust your network sharing settings based on the network you are connected to. However, for your home network, you may want to customize the defaults.

Windows 8.x

Windows 8.x makes things a bit confusing because they group all the network sharing settings in three sections: “Private”, “Guest or Public” and “All Networks”.

The “Private” group includes three settings: “network discovery”, “file and printer sharing” and “HomeGroup connections”. These settings are applied only for network connections that are set as Private.

The “Guest and Public” group includes only two settings: “network discovery” and “file and printer sharing”. They are applied only to network connections that are set as “Public”.

The All Networks group includes four settings: “public folder sharing”, “media streaming”, “file sharing connections” and “password protected sharing”. The trouble with these settings is that they are applied to all network connections (both “Private” and “Public”).

Why is this a problem? Because if you turn on “public folder sharing”, you turn it on also for “Public” network connections, which may be a security risk. Also, imagine the problems you may have when turning off password protected sharing for all network connections.

That’s why it is very important that you pay attention and customize these settings while keeping security foremost in your mind.

Windows Network Sharing Settings

Before you start configuring all the network sharing settings, it is best to understand what each setting does. Let’s take a look at each of them, one by one, based on their order in Windows 8.x:

Network discovery

This setting makes Windows search for other computers and devices on the network and broadcasts your computer on the network, so that others see it. “Network discovery” should be turned on in order for your computer to access other computers on the network and be able to share things with them.

In Windows 8.x you will find also a sub-setting that says “Turn on automatic setup of network connected devices”. Unfortunately, this setting is not documented anywhere by Microsoft and figuring out what it does took us a lot of time and experimentation. It seems that when this is enabled, Windows is able to detect network connected devices like external hard drives connected to your router or to another PC and then be able to use them to provide all kinds of services, including making “File History” backups on those devices.

When this setting is turned off, Windows won’t detect such devices and it won’t be able to use them to perform “File History” backups or provided other kinds of services.

Keep Reading…

Lesson 3: Customizing Your Network Sharing Settings

File and printer sharing

This setting allows Windows to share files and printers as well as access files and printers shared by other computers on the network.

This setting must be turned on in order to perform any kind of network sharing.

HomeGroup connections

“HomeGroup connections” is for turning on or off the Homegroup feature in Windows. If you have multiple computers with Windows 7 or Windows 8.x, you should keep this feature turned on and use it for easy network sharing. To learn more about the Homegroup and what it does, go back to Lesson 2. If you would like to learn how to share using this feature, read Lesson 5.

When you turn this setting off, Windows will allow network sharing only through the use of user accounts and passwords. People on other computers must authenticate themselves using the user account you shared folders and devices with.

Public folder sharing

“Public folder sharing” is an old-school concept for sharing folders with others on the same computer and on the network.

We’ll explain this in more detail in the next lesson. Until you read it, keep in mind that when this kind of sharing is enabled, anything you drop in the “C:\Users\Public” folder is publicly available for other devices and computers on the network.

Media streaming

This setting allows you to specify where you want people and devices on the network to access pictures, music, and videos on your computer.

Basically, your standard libraries (Pictures, Videos, etc.) are made available for media streaming and you can access them using Windows Media Player. If you have an Xbox console in your network you can easily stream your libraries to it.

There is one important difference between Windows 7 and Windows 8.x: Windows 7 has this setting turned off by default while Windows 8.x has it turned on, and you are expected to customize how it works.

File sharing connections

Not many people know that file sharing connections are encrypted by Windows. By default, Windows uses 128-bit encryption so that your data transfers are not easily sniffed by others.

This encryption works well with all modern operating systems and you should not have to change the default setting, unless there’s some really old computer on your network with a dated operating system. Only then should you consider changing the 128-bit encryption with 40 or 56-bit encryption.

Password protected sharing

“Password protected sharing” is important for the security of your network but it can also constitute an annoyance factor.

By default, only the computers and devices that are part of the same Homegroup can view the stuff you share, without authentication. Computers or devices with a different operating system will be able to access what you are sharing only if they authenticate using a user account and password that is allowed to access what you are sharing.

This is fine if your network includes mostly Windows computers and devices and if they use recent versions like Windows 7 or Windows 8.x. If you have Linux PCs or Mac OS computers, then this setting might be a pain and you may prefer to disable password protected sharing.

What Network Sharing Settings Should I Change?

To help you make sure that you create the best possible setup, we would like to share some recommendations:

• In both Windows 7 and Windows 8.x, use the defaults for “Public” network connections. Meaning that you turn off both network discovery and file and printer sharing.
• For “Private” (“Home or Work” in Windows 7) network connections, turn on the following settings: “network discovery”, “automatic setup of network connected devices” (available only in Windows 8), “file and printer sharing” and “allow Windows to manage Homegroup connections”.
• If you don’t plan to use the Public folder for sharing (don’t forget to read Lesson 4 before making this decision), it is best to turn off this feature for all network locations.
• “Media streaming” should also be turned off if you don’t plan to use it, for all network locations.
• We recommend that you leave the default 128-bit encryption to help protect file sharing connections and that you keep “password protected sharing” turned on, unless this is a major annoyance and only a few trusted people have access to the computers in your home network.

If you have chosen the wrong location for your active network connection, please do not change the network sharing settings for it. You will be exposing yourself to all kinds of issues when connecting to a new network. The best way to solve this problem is to change the incorrectly assigned location, detailed in the following section.

How to Change the Network Location in Windows 7

In Windows 7, you can change the assigned network location from the “Network and Sharing Center”.

In the middle of the window, you will see a section that says “View your active networks”.

This section displays the active connection for each network adapter or network card. If you have virtualization software installed (like Virtual Box or VMWare Player), you will see additional network adapters installed by the virtualization software. For those virtual adapters, it is best not to change the assigned network location/profile.

To change the location for your active network connection, click the currently assigned location. The “Set Network Location” window is shown, where you can choose a different location.

Select the location that works best for you. You are informed about this change and what it means for you.

Click “Close” to finish.

Your network sharing settings have now been adjusted accordingly and changed to the defaults that have been set for the newly active location.

Note, if you choose the “Home” location you will also be asked to create a Homegroup and share stuff with it, even though a Homegroup may already exist on your network. It is best to close that wizard and follow the instructions in Lesson 5 so that you set up your Homegroup correctly. How to Change the Network Location in Windows 8.x

The procedure for changing the network location in Windows 8.1 is very different than in Windows 7. First, go to “PC Settings”. One way to do this is to go to the Start screen and bringing up the charms by flicking from the right side of the screen or pressing “Windows + C” on your keyboard. Click or tap “Settings” and then “Change PC Settings”.

In PC Settings, go to “Network”. In the “Connections” section, you will see the active network connection. If you are on a desktop PC and you have a wired network connection, your connection will be named “Network” and it will be displayed under “Ethernet”.

If you are using a laptop or tablet with Windows 8.1, you will see the name of your wireless network in the section named “Wi-Fi”.

Click or tap your network connection and its properties are displayed.

The information displayed depends on the network card you are using and the type of connection you have (wired or wireless). However, for all connections, you will see a section named “Find devices and content” that includes a switch. If you want to assign the “Private” location for the active network connection, set this switch to “On”.

If you want to assign the “Public” location, set this switch to “Off”. Your network sharing settings will be adjusted accordingly and changed to the defaults that have been set for the newly active location.

Coming up Next …

Now you know all the basics about settings that are important for network sharing in Windows. We hope that you have enjoyed this lesson and that it was useful to you.

Next, you will learn more about the Public folder and how it can be used for sharing with others.

Next Page: Sharing with Others Using the Public Folder

Lesson 7: Sharing with the Network Using Advanced Sharing

The objective for this lesson is to explain the concept of “Advanced Sharing” and how it works in Windows.

SCHOOL NAVIGATION

1. User Accounts, Groups, Permissions & Their Role in Sharing
2. The Basic Concepts in Network Sharing
3. Customizing Your Network Sharing Settings
4. Sharing with Others Using the Public Folder
5. Sharing With the Homegroup
6. Sharing With the Network Using the Sharing Wizard
7. Sharing with the Network Using Advanced Sharing
8. How to Work With Network Drives & Network Locations
9. How to Share Devices With Others On the Network
10. How to View & Access What’s Shared on the Network

As you will see, this way of sharing is rather old-school but also very powerful. It allows for detailed customization of what you are sharing, but it does have limitations in what you can share. Those limitations will also be covered in this lesson.

But first you will learn how to enable “Advanced Sharing” and then learn how to use it to share resources with the network and the Homegroup. During this process you will also learn how to limit the number of users that can connect to what you are sharing.

Next, you will see how to change the share name of a shared folder or drive and use multiple share names for the same resource.

Last, but not least, we will explain how to stop sharing a folder or a drive with “Advanced Sharing” and how to limit access to a specific user account or group while still sharing it with others.

What is Advanced Sharing in Windows?

Advanced Sharing is one way of sharing resources in Windows. It allows for detailed customization of the way you are sharing and it has the following characteristics:

• You can use it to share folders, external hard drives and internal drives (your partitions, Blu-Ray or DVD drives).
• You can use it to deny access to a specific resource for a specific user account or user group.
• You can use it to limit the number of simultaneous users accessing a shared resource.
• You can use it to share resources with one or more share names.
• You cannot use “Advanced Sharing” for sharing libraries or printers.

How to Enable Advanced Sharing in Windows

“Advanced Sharing” is enabled by default when you share devices like external hard drives or your computer’s Blu-Ray or DVD drive. It is disabled by default when you share folders. If you want to use it for sharing folders as a replacement for the “Sharing Wizard”, then you need to disable the “Sharing Wizard”.

Open File Explorer in Windows 8.x or Windows Explorer in Windows 7. In Windows 8.x, expand the “View” tab on the ribbon and press the “Options” button on the far right.

The “Folder Options” window, where you can enable “Advanced Sharing”, is now open.

In Windows 7, click the “Organize” button on the Explorer toolbar and then “Folder and search options”.

In the “Folder Options” window, go to the “View” tab. In the “Advanced Settings” section you will find lots of configuration options for Windows/File Explorer.

Scroll to the bottom of the list and you will find an option that says “Use Sharing Wizard (Recommended)”. To enable the “Advanced Sharing”, clear this option and press “OK”. Then, close the “Folder Options” window.

“Advanced Sharing” is now enabled also for sharing folders.

How to Access Advanced Sharing for a Folder or Drive

After “Advanced Sharing” is enabled in Windows, you can start using it for sharing folders and drives. In order to start using “Advanced Sharing” for sharing a folder, you need to first select it in File Explorer (in Windows 8.x) or Windows Explorer (in Windows 7).

Once you select the folder in Windows 8, expand the “Share” tab on the ribbon. In the “Share with” section you will find only one option which says “Advanced Sharing”.

A click or tap on it opens the folder’s Properties window, directly at the “Sharing” tab. There you have two sections:

• Network File and Folder Sharing – this indicates whether the folder is shared or not. If the folder is shared, you will also see the network path to that folder. The network path is the path used by other computers or devices to access that folder.
• Advanced Sharing – this section only includes the “Advanced Sharing” button that starts the wizard for sharing with the network.
• Password Protection – this informs you whether others need to have a user account and password for your computer in order to access the folders you are sharing with the network.

To start sharing with others, press the “Advanced Sharing” button.

Once you select the folder in Windows 7, click “Share with” on the toolbar and then “Advanced sharing settings”. This opens the folder’s Properties window, directly at the “Sharing” tab, just like in Windows 8.x. The sections and options displayed are the same in Windows 7 and Windows 8.x.

Another way to start “Advanced Sharing” is to right-click the folder that you want to share with the network. On the menu, select “Share with” and then “Advanced sharing”.

The folder’s Properties window is opened as shown above.

How to Share Folders or Drives with Advanced Sharing

Let’s continue with the actual steps involved in sharing with “Advanced Sharing”. To give you an example of how this is done, we are sharing a folder on one of our network computers with Windows 8.x.

The “Advanced Sharing” window is empty at first and unappealing.

To share the selected folder, check the box that says “Share this folder”. If you stop here and click “OK”, the folder is shared on the network with everyone. However, the beauty of “Advanced Sharing” is that you can customize in detail how the folder is shared.

Keep Reading…

Lesson 7: Sharing with the Network Using Advanced Sharing

You can limit the number of simultaneous users accessing the shared folder by changing the default value (20) to a number according to your preference. For example, if you want only one user at a time accessing the shared folder, set “Limit the number of simultaneous users to” to 1.

Then, you can edit the permissions being given to that shared folder and who has access to it. To edit these permissions, click or tap the “Permissions” button. This opens the “Permissions” window for that shared folder. Here you have two sections:

• Group or user names – this section lists all the user accounts and user groups you are sharing the folder with. By default, when sharing a folder, the user group “Everyone” is the only one receiving permissions. You can remove it by selecting this group and then pressing “Remove”.
• Permissions for the selected user account or group – when you select a user group or user account in the first section, the second section in the “Permissions” window is updated to display the permissions received. By default, a folder is shared with “Read” permissions. Also, the permissions can be set to “Allow” or “Deny”. When you want to share something, you should use only the checkboxes in the “Allow” column.

If you need a refresher on permissions, go back to Lesson 1.

Let’s assume you want to share the selected folder with another user account or user group. To add it, press the “Add” button. The “Select Users or Groups” window is opened. Here you can type the user account or user group that you want to share with. However, it is easier to click or tap “Advanced” and use the mouse or touch for this task.

In order for Windows to display all the user accounts and groups that exist on your PC or device, click or tap “Find Now”.

Below you can see a long list of user accounts and groups. Select the user account or group you want to share with and press “OK”.

The selected user account or group is now displayed in the “Select Users or Groups” window. Click or tap “OK”.

You are back to the “Permissions” window for the selected folder. Next, set the desired permissions for the group or user account you just added and click or tap “OK”.

In the “Advanced Sharing” window, press “OK” and the folder is now shared with the user accounts and user groups you have selected, and with the permissions you have assigned.

How to Change the Share Name of a Shared Folder

In the “Advanced Sharing” window you can also change the default name used for sharing the selected resource and add any number of share names. You can also remove the initial share name after you add at least one new share name.

Keep in mind that these share names do not affect the actual name of the resources on your Windows PC or device. That remains the same. The share name only affects the way other see the shared resource on the network.

To add a new share name, click or tap “Add”.

The “New Share” window is opened. Here, type a new “Share name” and press “OK”. Before doing that, you can also change the number of allowed users as this setting can have different values for different share names.

Back in the “Advanced Sharing” window, you can see the newly added share name.

You can add more share names using the same procedure. When done, click or tap “OK” and the same resource is shared using all the share names given to it.

If you want to remove a share name, select it from the “Share name” drop-down list and then press “Remove”. Don’t forget to click or tap “OK” to apply the change and close the “Advanced Sharing” window.

To get a better picture, look at the screenshot below. You can see our “Downloads” folder shared using the share names “downloads” and “my new share”, in the “Network” section in File Explorer.

Opening either of them will display the same files and sub-folders since they point to the same physical location.

Share with the HomeGroup with Advanced Sharing

Sharing with the Homegroup when using “Advanced Sharing” is obviously possible. Follow the procedure shared earlier, select the “HomeUsers” group and give it the permissions you desire.

Any resource shared with the user group “HomeUsers” is accessible from any computers that are part of the Homegroup.

Share with Non-Microsoft Operating Systems

When sharing a folder with “Advanced Sharing”, Windows shares resources by default with the “Everyone” group. That’s great for sharing with computers and devices that do not have Windows.

Do not fiddle with this way of sharing and only modify the permissions assigned to “Everyone”.

How to Stop Sharing a Folder or Drive with Advanced Sharing

If you want to stop sharing a resource with others on the network, access “Advanced Sharing” using the method shared earlier. Then, in the “Advanced Sharing” window, uncheck the box that says “Share this folder” and press “OK”.

The selected folder or drive is no longer shared with the network.

How to Deny Access to a Specific User or Group with Advanced Sharing

If you want to share a folder or a drive with some users or groups and deny access to others, you can do so with “Advanced Sharing”. Follow the procedure shared earlier and add the user group or account whose access you want to block.

Then, in the “Permissions” window select that user or group and, in the “Deny” column, check the maximum permission level you want to deny. If you want to completely want to deny access, check the “Deny” box for “Full Control”. In the screenshot below you can see an example.

Then, press “OK” to apply your settings both in the “Permissions” and “Advanced Sharing” windows.

Coming up Next …

In the next lesson we will talk about network drives, their role in network sharing and how to create or remove such drives.

Next Page: How to Work With Network Drives & Network Locations

Lesson 6: Sharing With the Network Using the Sharing Wizard

The objective for this lesson is to explain in detail what the “Sharing Wizard” in Windows is, how it works, and how to use it in network sharing.

SCHOOL NAVIGATION

1. User Accounts, Groups, Permissions & Their Role in Sharing
2. The Basic Concepts in Network Sharing
3. Customizing Your Network Sharing Settings
4. Sharing with Others Using the Public Folder
5. Sharing With the Homegroup
6. Sharing With the Network Using the Sharing Wizard
7. Sharing with the Network Using Advanced Sharing
8. How to Work With Network Drives & Network Locations
9. How to Share Devices With Others On the Network
10. How to View & Access What’s Shared on the Network

You will first learn how to tell whether the “Sharing Wizard” is enabled, and how to turn it on if it is off on your Windows PC or device. Obviously, you will also learn how to disable it if you do not wish to use it.

Then, you will learn the options that are provided by Windows for quick network sharing, so that you don’t have to go through an actual wizard with many steps.

Next, you will use the “Sharing Wizard” to share resources and assign detailed permissions to different user accounts and user groups. You will also learn how to set a shared resource so that it is easily accessible from computers with operating systems other than Windows.

At the end of this lesson you will learn how to stop sharing a folder or library with the whole network or only with a specific user account or group.

How to Enable or Disable the Sharing Wizard

The Sharing Wizard is enabled by default in Windows. To double-check that it is enabled, open “File Explorer” in Windows 8.x or “Windows Explorer” in Windows 7.

In Windows 8.x, expand the “View” tab on the ribbon and click or tap the “Options” button on the far right.

This opens the “Folder Options” window where you can enable or disable the Sharing Wizard.

In Windows 7, click the “Organize” button on the Explorer toolbar and then “Folder and search options”.

In the “Folder Options” window, go to the “View” tab. In the “Advanced Settings” section you will find lots of configuration options for Windows/File Explorer.

Scroll to the bottom of the list and you will find an option that says “Use Sharing Wizard (Recommended)”. To enable the “Sharing Wizard”, check this option and click or tap “OK”. Then, close the “Folder Options” window.

If you would like to disable the “Sharing Wizard” and use advanced sharing instead, uncheck “Use Sharing Wizard (Recommended)” and click or tap “OK”. Then, close the “Folder Options” window.

To learn more about advanced sharing and how to use it, read lesson 7.

How to Quickly Share Libraries or Folders in Windows

Enabling the sharing wizard doesn’t mean that you will always share things using a wizard in the true sense of the word but that you will have access to quick sharing tools. The fastest way that works in both Windows 7 and Windows 8.x is to right click on the library or folder that you want to share. In the right-click menu, click “Share with” and then a menu expands, displaying several options for sharing.

Here, Windows 8.x operating systems provide lots of sharing options:

• Stop sharing – stops sharing the selected item.
• Homegroup (view) – shares the item with others in the Homegroup, giving them read-only permissions.
• Homegroup (view & edit) – shares the item with others in the Homegroup, giving them read and write permissions.
• User accounts existing on your computer – shares the selected item with the select user account that exists on your computer. That user account is given read-only permissions.
• Specific people – starts the Sharing Wizard, as you will see in the next section of this lesson.

In Windows 7, the list of “Share with” options is smaller and it includes the following options:

• Nobody – the equivalent of not sharing the selected item.
• Homegroup (Read) – shares the item with others in the Homegroup, giving them read-only permissions.
• Homegroup (Read/Write) – shares the item with others in the Homegroup, giving them read and write permissions.
• Specific people – starts the Sharing Wizard which will be explained in detail in the next section.

If you need a refresher on permissions, go back to Lesson 1 to learn more.

The same sharing options are displayed also on the ribbon of File Explorer, in Windows 8.x. Select the item that you want to share and expand the Share tab on the ribbon. In the “Share with” section you will see the sharing options that are available when you right click that item.

Press the small arrow pointing downwards, to expand the list.

Now you will see all the available sharing options.

Windows 7 also provides another method for accessing sharing options. In Windows Explorer, select the folder or library that you want to share. Then, click “Share with” in the top toolbar.

You will then see a menu with all the available sharing options.

How to Share Libraries or Folders with the Sharing Wizard

The “Share with” options shared earlier are useful in most network sharing scenarios. However, you may want to set also the permission levels for the user accounts you are sharing with and give them read-write permissions, not just read-only. If you want to have control over the permissions you assign when sharing, then it is a good idea to use the “Sharing Wizard”.

First of all, pick a library or a folder that you want to share with others on the network. Right-click on it and select “Share with > Specific people”.

Keep Reading…

Lesson 6: Sharing With the Network Using the Sharing Wizard

The “File Sharing” wizard starts. At first, you will see the user that is set as the owner for that resource and the user accounts or groups with whom it is already shared. If you have not shared this resource with anybody, then you will only see the owner being listed.

To share the resource, click or tap the drop-down list near the “Add” button. You will see a list with all the user accounts that exist on your Windows device, an entry for the Homegroup and an entry named “Everyone”.

If you select a user account and then click or tap “Add”, the resource will be shared with that user account. If you select “Homegroup” then, obviously, the resource will be shared with others in the Homegroup.

When you select “Everyone” this means that you want to share the resource with anyone with or without a user account on the computer that is sharing.

Select whom you want to share the resource you selected and click or tap “Add”.

A new entry is added in the list of users and groups having access to this shared resource. By default, you are giving others read-only permissions to what you are sharing.

To change the permission-level assigned, click or tap the arrow near Read, in the “Permission Level” column. You can change the permission-level to “Read/Write” or you can select “Remove” and remove the user account or user group from the list of people with whom you share the resource.

You can continue adding others to the list of people you share the resource with, using the same procedure. When done adding user accounts or user groups, click or tap “Share”.

Windows takes a while to share the resource you have selected. When done, you are informed. Click or tap “Done” to close the “File Sharing” wizard.

Note, this last step won’t be displayed at all times. For example, in our testing we didn’t see it when sharing libraries but we did see it when sharing most folders. It is unclear why this last step is not shown at all times and we haven’t found any Microsoft documentation that explains why this happens.

Share with Non-Microsoft Operating Systems

The steps required for sharing with other computers that do not have Windows are the same as shown above. The only thing that we advise you to do differently, is to select the “Everyone” entry. This will ensure that it is easier for other operating systems to access the resources you are sharing with the network.

It’s as simple as that. If all operating systems use the same Workgroup (see Lesson 2 for a refresher), you have correctly set the sharing settings in Windows (see Lesson 3 for a refresher) and you have shared folders or libraries using the “Everyone” user group, then the Linux PCs or the Macs on your home network should be able to access what you are sharing from your Windows computers.

How to Stop Sharing a Folder or a Library

If you want to stop sharing a folder or a library with the network, then right-click on it. In Windows 8.x, in the “Share with” menu, select “Stop sharing”.

The selected resource is no longer shared.

You also have the “Stop Sharing” option in the ribbon. In File Explorer, select the resource that you no longer wish to share and expand the “Share” tab. In the “Share with” section you will find the “Stop Sharing” button, then click or tap on it.

In Windows 7, in the “Share with” menu, select “Nobody” and the selected resource is no longer shared with the network.

Another way is to select the resource you no longer wish to share and in Windows Explorer, click the “Share with” item on the top toolbar, then click “Nobody”.

When you stop sharing a resource, this is the equivalent of manually removing all the user groups and user accounts you have shared the resource with. If you then open the “Sharing Wizard” for that resource, you will see only the owner listed as having access to it.

What if You Want to Stop Sharing Only with A Specific User or Group?

If you follow the instructions shared in the previous section, you stop sharing the selected folder or library with everyone on the network. But, you may want to stop sharing a resource only with the Homegroup or with a specific user account.

To do that, use the “File Sharing” wizard as shown earlier. At the step when you add user accounts or user groups to share with and set their permissions, select the user or the group you want to remove. Then, click or tap the assigned permission level and select “Remove”. This removes it from the list of people the resource is shared with.

To finish, click or tap “Share” and wait for Windows to share it only with the remaining users and groups. If you receive a confirmation of the changes that were performed, click or tap “Done” to close the wizard.

What About Sharing Printers or Other Devices?

Unfortunately, the “Sharing Wizard” cannot be used to share devices like external hard drives or printers that are attached to your Windows computer. For example, if you right-click on an external hard drive that you want to share with the network, in the “Share with” menu you will see only “Advanced sharing” as an option.

That is because devices cannot be shared using the “Sharing Wizard”. Some devices like external hard drives or your PC’s Blu-Ray or DVD drive can be shared only through Advanced Sharing. This will be covered in the next lesson.

Other devices like printers are shared differently without using the “Sharing Wizard” or “Advanced Sharing”.

We know this is confusing and that’s why we have created this series – to help you understand all the different ways of sharing resources in Windows!

Coming up Next …

In the next lesson we will work in detail with advanced sharing, so that you learn how to use it for sharing folders with others and gain more control on how they are shared.

Next Page: Sharing with the Network Using Advanced Sharing

Lesson 9: How to Share Devices With Others On the Network

The objective for this lesson is to explain how to share your printer and external hard drives with others on the network.

SCHOOL NAVIGATION

1. User Accounts, Groups, Permissions & Their Role in Sharing
2. The Basic Concepts in Network Sharing
3. Customizing Your Network Sharing Settings
4. Sharing with Others Using the Public Folder
5. Sharing With the Homegroup
6. Sharing With the Network Using the Sharing Wizard
7. Sharing with the Network Using Advanced Sharing
8. How to Work With Network Drives & Network Locations
9. How to Share Devices With Others On the Network
10. How to View & Access What’s Shared on the Network

We will start by teaching you how to share a printer with the Homegroup and then how to share it with the network. As you will see, the process is different and using the Homegroup makes things easier and faster.

Then we will discuss how to share external hard drives with others on the network as well as any partition from your Windows computer. As you will see, the process involves using Advanced Sharing and you will put the knowledge you gained in Lesson 7 to good use.

Last but not least we will talk a bit about how a good router can help you share a printer and an external hard drive with all the computers and devices that are part of your network.

But enough talk. Let’s get started!

How to Share Your Printer with the Homegroup

Sharing your local printer with the Homegroup is incredibly easy. In Windows 8.x, go to PC Settings and then to “Network > HomeGroup”. There you will find several switches for sharing with the Homegroup.

Find the one named “Printers” and set it to “On”.

Any printer that is connected to your Windows 8.x PC or device is now shared with others on the Homegroup.

In Windows 7, go to the Control Panel and then to “Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center”. In the column on the left, click “HomeGroup”.

In the HomeGroup window check the box for “Printers” and press “Save changes”.

Any printer that is connected to your Windows 7 PC is now shared with others on the Homegroup.

If you need a refresher about the Homegroup and how it can be used for network sharing, don’t hesitate to read Lesson 5.

How to Share Your Printer with the Network

If you have a network with operating systems other than Windows 7 and Windows 8.x, you may want to share your local printer using a different method, so that the printer can be discovered by all the computers in the network.

First, open the Control Panel and then go to “Hardware and Sound > Devices and Printers”. Here you will find all the external devices that are connected to your Windows PC or device. Things like webcams, keyboards, external hard drives, printers, etc.

Your local printer is displayed in the “Printers” section alongside virtual printers installed by the software on your PC or device.

Right-click or press and hold the printer you want to share with the network, and select “Printing preferences”.

The “Printer Properties” window is shown. Here you can configure all the important aspects of your printer and you can also share it with the network.

Since we are interested in sharing it with others on the network, go to the “Sharing” tab. You are informed that the printer will not be available when your computer sleeps or it is shut down. Also, if you are using password protected sharing (see Lesson 3 for a refresher), you are informed that only users on your network with a username and password for this computer can print to it.

To share your printer, check the box that says “Share this printer”.

The printer will be shared using its default product name and version. You can customize its share name by typing something else. You can also set whether you would like to render print jobs on client computers.

If this setting is enabled, all the documents that will be printed are rendered on the computers that order the printing process. When this setting is disabled, the documents are rendered on the computer to which the printer is attached.

We recommend enabling this setting so that system performance is not impacted on the computer to which the printer is attached, every time something gets printed.

To share the printer with the network, press “OK”.

Other computers can install the printer you are sharing as a network printer and use it when they need to print something.

The Trouble with Sharing Local Printers or Why You Should Use Wireless Printers

Back in the Windows XP era, local printers were the norm in the consumer space. Only businesses with lots of employees had network printers to which entire offices could print to.

In recent years, wireless printers have become very affordable and commonplace. You can find lots of models at many price points in any decent computer store. We recommend you to purchase and install a wireless printer in your home network. This will help avoid lots of annoyances that are common when using a local printer that is shared with the network.

• Computers on the network can view and use the shared printer only when both the printer and the computer that it is attached to are turned on.
• Installing a shared network printer involves more steps and it is more error prone than installing a modern wireless printer. You can encounter problems with conflicting network sharing settings, permissions and so on.
• The printing process is faster because it doesn’t involve sending data to another computer before getting it printed.
• Printing from local printers can be done only from computers that are part of the network but not from tablets or smartphones.

To make your home networking experience as pleasant as possible, buy a wireless printer that you can afford and which has driver support for all the operating systems in your network. Install it on each PC, Mac, or other device individually and then everyone can print without bothering others and using their computers or devices. You will also have one less cable in your network.

If for some reason you do not want to purchase a wireless printer or you simply cannot afford one, you can connect your local printer to your router, if your router has a USB port available and it can work as a printing server for your network. Setting things up differs from router to router so we recommend that you consult your router’s manual to learn how to set it up as a network print server.

More expensive printers also have an Ethernet port and you can connect them directly to your router with a network cable and without setting up the router to act as a print server. Setting them up on each PC in your network is just as easy as setting up wireless printers.

How to Stop Sharing the Printer with the Homegroup

The steps involved when you want to stop sharing your printer with the Homegroup are the same as when you start sharing it.

In Windows 8.x, go to PC Settings and then to “Network > HomeGroup.” Set the switch for “Printers” to “Off”.

All the local printers attached to your PC or device are no longer shared with the Homegroup.

In Windows 7, go to the Control Panel and then to “Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center”. In the “Network and Sharing Center” go to the column on the left and click “HomeGroup”.

In the “HomeGroup” window clear the box for “Printers” and press “Save changes”.

All the local printers attached to your PC are no longer shared with the Homegroup.

Keep Reading…

Lesson 9: How to Share Devices With Others On the Network

How to Stop Sharing the Printer with the Network

The steps involved when you no longer want to share a printer with the network are the same as when sharing it. Follow the instructions in the “How to Share Your Printer with the Network” section, found earlier in this article. Then, in the “Printer Properties” window, go to the “Sharing” tab, clear the box for “Share this printer” and press “OK”.

Your local printer is no longer shared with others on the network.

How to Share Partitions or External Hard Drives with the Network

Sharing entire partitions or external hard drives with others on the network is done only through “Advanced Sharing”. If you need a refresher about this concept, please read Lesson 7. In this section we won’t spend time explaining all the available sharing options and we will only take you through the procedure that’s involved when sharing a drive.

If you are using Windows 8.x, open File Explorer and go to This PC. If you are using Windows 7, open Windows Explorer and go to Computer.

Find the partition or the external hard drive you want to share with others on the network and right-click or press and hold on it. In the right-click menu go to “Share with > Advanced sharing”.

The “Properties” window is shown for the selected drive. In the “Network File and Folder” sharing section of the “Share” tab you can view if it is already shared or not. Press the “Advanced Sharing” button.

In the “Advanced Sharing” window, check the box that says “Share this folder”. By default, drives are shared using their letter.

You can type a more descriptive share name. You can also limit the number of simultaneous users connecting to it over the network. To edit who received permissions for accessing this share drive, press the “Permissions” button.

In the “Permissions” window you will see that the drive is shared with the “Everyone” user group. If you don’t want to share your printer with everyone on your network, then “Remove” this user group and press “Add” to give access to someone else.

The “Select Users or Groups” window is now shown. Press the “Advanced” button.

Then, click or tap “Find Now”.

Windows displays a list with all the user accounts and user groups existing on your computer. Select the user account or the user group you want to share the printer with. If you want to share it with the Homegroup, you need to select the “HomeUsers” group, then click or tap “OK”.

Click or tap “OK” in the Select Users or Groups window.

You are back to the “Permissions” window. Here you can modify the permissions assigned to all the user accounts or user groups you have added. If you would like to learn more about all the available permission levels and what they do, please read Lesson 7.

When you are done setting things up, press “OK”.

The selected drive is now shared with the network and you can see its network path in the “Network File and Folder Sharing” section.

Press “Close” and you are done.

Each time you view the shared drive in File Explorer or Windows Explorer, it will see a small icon on its bottom-left corner, signaling that the drive is shared with others.

If you will stop sharing this drive, the icon will be no longer displayed.

How to Stop Sharing a Partition or an External Hard Drive

To stop sharing a drive from your computer, you need to follow the same steps as for sharing it. When you get to the Advanced Sharing window, clear the box that says “Share this folder”.

Press “OK” and then “Close”.

Attaching External Hard Drives to Your Router

If you need to use the same external hard drive from multiple computers and devices on your network, then it is best to attach it to your router, if it has a USB port available. Modern routers can be set to share your hard drive with everyone on the network and make it available for all the computers and devices that are part of it.

However, the setup of this feature is different from router to router and we can’t create a guide that applies to all of them. Please consult your router’s manual and learn whether it can use your external hard drives and share them with others on the network.

Coming up Next …

In the next and final lesson of this series you will learn how to view and access what is shared on the network: libraries, folders, printers or shared drives.

Next Page: How to View & Access What’s Shared on the Network

Lesson 8: How to Work With Network Drives & Network Locations

The objective for this lesson is to explain what network drives and network locations are, what they do, why they are useful, and how to use them.

SCHOOL NAVIGATION

1. User Accounts, Groups, Permissions & Their Role in Sharing
2. The Basic Concepts in Network Sharing
3. Customizing Your Network Sharing Settings
4. Sharing with Others Using the Public Folder
5. Sharing With the Homegroup
6. Sharing With the Network Using the Sharing Wizard
7. Sharing with the Network Using Advanced Sharing
8. How to Work With Network Drives & Network Locations
9. How to Share Devices With Others On the Network
10. How to View & Access What’s Shared on the Network

We will start by defining these two concepts and compare their characteristics, so that you know what a network drive is and how it differs from a network location. Also, you will understand when to use one or the other.

You will learn how to map a network drive as we will walk you through all the steps involved. Then we will cover how to create a network location pointing to a website or FTP site.

You can enhance how accessible network drives or network locations are by creating shortcuts to them on the Start screen, the Desktop or the taskbar. This will also be covered in this lesson.

Last but not least, you will learn how to remove network drives and network locations, when you no longer need them.

What Are Network Drives and Network Locations

In order to access shared network resources more efficiently, you can create a shortcut to a folder shared by another PC or device on the network. The process for creating this type of shortcut is called mapping a network drive. A mapped network drive has the following characteristics:

• It has a drive letter assigned like any other partition in your system.
• It points to a network shared folder.
• It points only to resources found on your network.
• You need the appropriate credentials to connect to it.

You can also create shortcuts to a web resources like a web share or an FTP server. The process for creating this type of shortcut is named creating a network location. A network location has the following characteristics:

• It is a shortcut to a web location like a website or FTP site.
• It can point to either external resources found on the Internet and to resources found in your network/intranet.
• You need the appropriate credentials to connect to it.
• It doesn’t have a driver letter assigned.

Both network drives and network locations are stored individually for each user account. They are available only from the user account that has created them and they are not available for all the users on the same Windows computer or device.

If you need a refresher on user accounts, their types and characteristics, don’t hesitate to read Lesson 1.

How to Map a Shared Network Folder as a Network Drive

Mapping a shared network folder as a network drive is done using the “Map Network Drive” wizard. This wizard works the same in Windows 7 and Windows 8.x but it is started slightly differently in each operating system.

For example, in Windows 8.x you need to start File Explorer and go to This PC, then expand the Computer tab on the ribbon and click or tap “Map network drive”.

In Windows 7, start Windows Explorer and go to Computer. On the top toolbar you will see several buttons including one that says “Map network drive”. If you don’t see it, it means that there is insufficient space for displaying it and you need to maximize the Windows Explorer window.

The “Map Network Drive” wizard is now displayed. First, select the letter you want to assign to the drive you are about to map. Then, you need to select the shared network folder you want it to point to. You can directly type the path to it, if you know it. When typing the network path, you must start with “\\” followed by the name of the computer that is sharing the folder you want to map, followed by “\” and the name of the shared network folder. If you don’t really know these details, you can always click or tap “Browse”.

In the “Browse For Folder” window, browse through your network computers and expand the computer and select the folder you want to map and press “OK”.

Note, do not double-click on it as this may return an error saying that you don’t have access to it because you have not yet entered the credentials required to access it.

The network path to the selected folder is now displayed in the “Folder” entry. By default, Windows checks the box that says “Reconnect at sign-in”. This is to make sure that the drive you are about to map is used for all subsequent sign-ins. If you clear this box, the mapped resource will be used by Windows until you sign out from your user account and you will have to recreate it when you sign in again.

The next important setting says “Connect using different credentials”. This setting is disabled by default and it means that Windows will try to connect to the mapped drive using the user account and password from your computer. If this user account doesn’t exist on the computer sharing the selected folder, then you will have issues connecting to it. That is unless that folder is shared with the Homegroup or with the Everyone user group. In these scenarios you will be able to access the shared network folder.

If you need a refresher about the Homegroup and how it works, please read lesson 5.

If you want to use a specific user account and password to connect to the shared network folder and that user has permissions to access it, then check the “Connect using different credentials” setting.

When you are done configuring how you want to connect to the network drive, press “Finish”. If you enabled “Connect using different credentials”, the “Windows Security” window is shown, asking you to enter the user account and password it should use to connect to the network drive. If you did not enable this setting, Windows will try to connect to the network drive using the user account details from your computer.

In the Windows Security window it is very important that you pay attention to how you enter the credentials of the user account you are about to use.

In the “Username” field it is mandatory that you start by typing the name of the computer you will connect to. The name of this computer is mentioned in the line that says “Enter your credentials to connect to: Computer Name”. Simply type what you see there, followed by a “\” and then the user name you want to use.

If you are connecting to a Windows 8.x computer with a Microsoft account, type the e-mail address used by that account (for example: howtogeek@outlook.com or howtogeek@live.com). Then, in the “Password” field, type the password for that user account. If you want your credentials to be remembered, check the box that says “Remember my credentials”.

Note, we advise against doing that at first because you might make a mistake in typing the credentials, at least the first time you try things. If you are successful during the first connection, then, when you connect again to this drive mapping, Windows will display the Windows Security window again, asking for the same log in details. Then you can enter them and check this box so that you don’t have to enter the user credentials each time you use this drive mapping.

When done, press “OK”.

The drive mapping is now complete and an Explorer window is shown, displaying the contents of the shared network folder you just mapped.

The drive mapping is displayed in the “This PC” section of File Explorer (in Windows 8.x) or the Computer section of Windows Explorer (in Windows 7). All the mapped drives are shown under “Network Locations”.

How to Map the Address of a Website or FTP Server as a Network Location

Mapping the address of a website or FTP service is done using the “Add Network Location” wizard. This wizard works the same in Windows 7 and Windows 8.x but it is started slightly differently. For example, in Windows 8.x you need to start File Explorer and go to This PC. Then, expand the Computer tab on the ribbon and click or tap “Add a network location”.

Keep Reading…

Lesson 8: How to Work With Network Drives & Network Locations

In Windows 7, open Windows Explorer and go to the Computer section. There, right click somewhere on the available empty space. In the right-click menu you will see an option which says “Add a network location”.

Click on it and the wizard starts.

The “Add Network Location” wizard is now displayed and it shares what you can do with it.

Press “Next”.

You are asked where you want to create this network location and given only one choice. Select “Choose a custom network location” and press “Next”.

You are asked to give the location of the website or FTP site you want to add. If you want to add a web share, you should type “http://” or “https://” – depending on the protocol used by the web share, followed by the web server and then “/” followed by the share name. For example: http://howtogeek.com/sharename.

Most people will use this wizard to map FTP sites. At least this is the only thing we have used this wizard for. To map an FTP site, type “ftp://” followed by the IP address of the FTP site (if you need a refresher on IP addresses, please read Lesson 2). For example: ftp://192.168.1.2.

Press “Next”.

You are asked to enter a user name and password if they are required. If you cannot log in anonymously, clear the box that says “Log on anonymously”. If you can log in anonymously, press “Next” and skip the next step.

If you cleared “Log on anonymously”, you are asked to enter the user name for accessing the specified location. Type it and press “Next”.

Now you are asked to give a name to this network location. Its default name is the IP address or the web address of the location you entered. Name it anything you wish and press “Next”.

You are informed that you have successfully created this network location. Press “Finish” to access it.

If you can’t log on anonymously to this location, you will see the “Log On As” window, asking for the username and password to authenticate to this location. Type them and then select “Save password” if you don’t want to type the password every time you access this location. When done, press “Log On”.

The network location and its content is now displayed in an Explorer window.

You can now browse its contents and use it according to the permissions given to the user account you have used to authenticate.

How to Pin Network Drives or Network Locations for Easy Access

Even though the main benefit of mapping drives or network locations is making things more accessible, they are not accessible enough if you ask us. In order to access them you need to first open Explorer. If you truly want to make them accessible, you should pin them to the Start screen in Windows 8, the Desktop, or the taskbar.

To pin a network drive to the Windows 8.x Start screen, right-click with a mouse (or press and hold on a touchscreen) on the drive and select “Pin to Start”.

A tile with the generic icon used for mapped drives, will be added to the Start screen pointing to the network location set for your mapping.

To create a shortcut on the Desktop, right click the network drive and select “Create shortcut”.

The shortcut is automatically added to the Desktop and you can use it to quickly access the network location mapped for that drive.

You can also drag-and-drop a mapped drive to the taskbar, as shown below. The drive will be pinned to the File Explorer or Windows Explorer shortcut, depending on whether you use Windows 8.x or Windows 7.

How to Remove a Network Drive

There are several ways of removing a network drive. In Windows 8.x, open File Explorer and go to “This PC”, and select the network drive you want to remove. Expand the “Computer” tab on the ribbon and click or tap the arrow for “Map network drive”.

A small menu is displayed, which includes an option that says “Disconnect network drive”. Click or tap on it and the network drive is disconnected and removed from File Explorer.

Both in Windows 7 and Windows 8.x, open Explorer and find the network drive that you want to remove, in the section named This PC (in Windows 8.x) or Computer (in Windows 7). Then, right-click the network drive and select “Disconnect” in the right-click menu.

The mapped network drive will be removed.

How to Remove a Network Location

Removing a mapping to a website or FTP site is similar. You need to find the mapped network location in Windows Explorer (Windows 7) or File Explorer (Windows 8.x). You will find it in the “Computer” section in Windows 7 or “This PC” section in Windows 8.x.

Right-click on it (or press and hold) and select “Delete”.

The network location is now removed.

Coming up Next …

In the next lesson we will explain how to share devices with the network like your printer or the external hard drive attached to one of your computers.

Next Page: How to Share Devices With Others On the Network

Lesson 5: Sharing With the Homegroup

The objective for this lesson is for you to gain a complete understanding of the Homegroup concept and how it works for network sharing.

SCHOOL NAVIGATION

1. User Accounts, Groups, Permissions & Their Role in Sharing
2. The Basic Concepts in Network Sharing
3. Customizing Your Network Sharing Settings
4. Sharing with Others Using the Public Folder
5. Sharing With the Homegroup
6. Sharing With the Network Using the Sharing Wizard
7. Sharing with the Network Using Advanced Sharing
8. How to Work With Network Drives & Network Locations
9. How to Share Devices With Others On the Network
10. How to View & Access What’s Shared on the Network

We will start with a few requirements that must be met in order for you to successfully use the Homegroup. Then, you will learn how to create a Homegroup in both Windows 7 and Windows 8.x operating systems.

Once you have created your Homegroup, you will learn how to set a custom password for it and join other Windows computers and devices.

Then you will learn how to view and even print the password for your Homegroup, in case you forget it, and how to share libraries and printers with other computers that are part of it.

Last but not least you will learn how to leave a Homegroup when you no longer need to use it.

How to Change the Workgroup and Computer Name

In order for your Homegroup to work well and be able to join and detect other Homegroup computers and devices, you should have the same workgroup set on all the computers in your network.

As mentioned in Lesson 2, the workgroup facilitates the detection of the computers and the sharing of resources like folders or printers that are part of it

By default, all modern operating systems have the workgroup set to “WORKGROUP”. If you have fiddled with this setting on one of your network computers, you should change it so that it matches with other computers in your network.

The computer name is not as important as the workgroup. The only rule here is that your computers must have unique names in the network they are part of. If you have two or more computers using the same name, you will encounter conflicts and issues.

You can change the workgroup and the computer name using the same procedure. First open the Control Panel and go to “System and Security > System”.

In the “Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings” section you will see the existing computer name and workgroup. Click or tap “Change settings”.

The “System Properties” window now opens.

On the “Computer Name” tab, click or tap the “Change” button and the Computer Name/Domain Changes window is opened. Here you can change both the computer name and the workgroup by typing new values in the appropriate fields.

When choosing a new computer name, keep in mind that it should have a maximum of 15 characters and should not include spaces or special characters like : \ * , . ” or @. When done, press “OK”.

Windows takes some time to apply your changes and then informs you on the success of this change. If you changed the workgroup and everything went well, Windows welcomes you to the new workgroup. Click or tap “OK”.

If you changed only the computer name, you won’t see this prompt. Then, you are informed that you need to restart your computer to apply your changes. Click or tap “OK”.

Close the “System Properties” window and you are asked to restart your computer. Choose whether you would like to restart your computer now or later.

After Windows is restarted the new workgroup and/or computer name is applied.

How to Leave a Workgroup

A computer can never be without a workgroup but you can “leave” one. To leave a workgroup, you can change it using the method described above. When you change to a different workgroup from that used by the computers in your network, your computer will still be discoverable but you will start having issues when sharing with others on the network. That’s why it is best to use the same workgroup on all your network computers.

Homegroups

A Homegroup’s purpose is to easily facilitate the sharing of files and printers with other people on a home network. This feature doesn’t work on public or business networks because it is designed specifically for home users.

How to Create a Homegroup in Windows 7

To create a Homegroup in Windows 7 you need to use the “Control Panel”. The procedure works the same in Windows 8.x, if you prefer to use the Desktop method.

However, there’s also a faster way of creating it from “PC Settings”. Therefore, if you use Windows 8.x, we recommend that you read the next section.

Before you go ahead, please remember that the location of the active network connection must be set to “Home”. Otherwise, you won’t see the options for creating a Homegroup. If you are unsure how to do this, please refer to Lesson 4.

In the “Control Panel”, go to “Network and Internet > Homegroup”. You are informed that there is currently no homegroup on the network.

Click “Create a homegroup” to start a new one.

You are asked to select what you want to share with other computers in the Homegroup. You can select any of the default user libraries and your printers.

When done selecting what you want to share, click “Next”.

Windows automatically generates a secure password for your Homegroup. If you want to keep using it, write it down and click “Finish”.

The Homegroup is now created and you can join other Windows computers and devices to it. If you don’t want to use the password that was generated by Windows, read the “How to Change the Homegroup Password” section later in this lesson.

How to Create a Homegroup in Windows 8.x

Windows 8.x operating systems offer two ways for creating a Homegroup: using the Control Panel and one using “PC Settings”. If you create a Homegroup from the Control Panel, the procedure is the same as in Windows 7 and slightly longer than when using the new “PC Settings”.

To open “PC Settings”, go to the Start screen and bring up the charms by flicking from the right side of the screen or pressing “Windows + C” on your keyboard. Click or tap “Settings” and then “Change PC Settings”.

Then, go to “Network” and then to “HomeGroup”. Windows shares information about the Homegroup and how you can use it to share with others on your network. Click or tap “Create”.

Windows takes a while to create the Homegroup. When done, you are shown several switches for sharing libraries and printers. You will learn more about them in the next sections of this lesson.

Also, after these switches, you will see the password that was generated for the newly created Homegroup. If you don’t want to use the password that was generated by Windows, read the upcoming “How to Change the Homegroup Password” section.

The Homegroup is now created and you can start joining other Windows computers to it, and share content and devices between them.

Can you Create More than One Homegroup?

You cannot create more than one Homegroup on the same network.

If Windows detects an existing Homegroup, it won’t give you the option to create another one. It will only allow you to join the existing Homegroup. But, your Windows computer or device can be part of more than one Homegroup, if it gets connected to multiple networks.

For example, you can have your own Homegroup at home, another one in the network that’s available in your vacation house, and another at your friend’s house. If you take your Windows laptop or tablet with you, you will connect to each of these networks and join the appropriate Homegroup attached to them.

How to Change the Homegroup Password

Changing the password used by the Homegroup can only be done from the Control Panel; even in Windows 8.x you cannot change it from “PC Settings”.

Any computer that is part of the Homegroup can change the password. However, this means that you have to rejoin all the computers that are part of that Homegroup, using the new password. We recommended that you change the Homegroup password as soon as you create the new Homegroup, but before joining other Windows computers and devices to it.

Go to the HomeGroup control panel and you are shown what is currently being shared with the Homegroup and you can change several settings, including the existing password.

Click or tap the “Change the password” link found in the “Other homegroup actions” section.

The “Change Your Homegroup Password” wizard is appears and you are informed that changing the password will disconnect everyone and that you will have to reconnect all the devices and computers that are part of it.

Go ahead and click or tap “Change the password”.

You can type a new password or press the button to generate a new random password.

When done, press “Next”.

The new Homegroup password is shown.

Press “Finish” and join other computers and devices using this new password, using the instructions shared in the next section.

Keep Reading…

Lesson 5: Sharing With the Homegroup

How to View the Homegroup Password

If you need to learn the password for the Homegroup, you can learn it from any PC or device that is part of it. In Windows 7 or on a Windows 8.x desktop PC, open the HomeGroup control panel. In the “Other homegroup actions” section, click the link that says “View or print the homegroup password”.

The password is now displayed and you can also print it, using the “Print this page” button. When done learning the password, click “Cancel”.

In Windows 8.x you can also go to “PC Settings > Network > HomeGroup”. Below the list of switches for sharing with the Homegroup, you will find the “Password” section, displaying the password.

How to Join a Homegroup in Windows 7

To join a Homegroup, open the HomeGroup control panel. You are notified that another user on another Windows computer or device has created a Homegroup on the network. Make sure that you know the password for this Homegroup and click “Join now”.

You are asked to select what you would like to share with the Homegroup. If you don’t want to share anything yet, uncheck all the options that are displayed. Otherwise, feel free to select the libraries you want to share.

When done, click “Next”.

Type the password for the Homegroup and then click “Next”.

Windows takes several seconds to connect your computer to the Homegroup. When done, you are welcomed to the Homegroup.

To close this wizard, click “Finish”.

Your computer is now part of the Homegroup and can share content and devices with others that are part of it.

How to Join a Homegroup in Windows 8.x

If you are a desktop PC user, you can use the same procedure for joining the Homegroup, as in Windows 7. All you have to do is go to the Control Panel, find the HomeGroup control panel and follow the instructions shared in the previous section. However, both PC and tablet users can use “PC Settings” and join the Homegroup faster than when using the Control Panel.

Open “PC Settings” and go to “Network > HomeGroup”. You are informed that a Homegroup is available for joining. Enter the password in the appropriate field and click or tap “Join”.

Windows 8.x takes a couple of seconds to join the Homegroup. When done, you can select the libraries and devices that are shared with the Homegroup.

We’ll talk more about sharing with the Homegroup in the next section.How to Share Libraries & Printers with the Homegroup

To make things simple, the “HomeGroup” “Control Panel” displays all the standard libraries that exist in Windows, plus printers.

Checking any of them will share the respective items with all other computers and devices that are part of the Homegroup. Unchecking an item means that you do not want to share it with the Homegroup. When selecting “Printers”, you will share all the printers that are attached to your Windows PC or device. If you have two printers, both of them are shared.

In order to apply your changes, don’t forget to press the “Save changes” button.

In Windows 8.x, if you go to the “HomeGroup” sub-section in “PC Settings”, you will see switches for each of the standard libraries, for your printers and for letting devices on your network to stream your music and videos.

All the switches are initially set to “Off”, meaning that nothing is shared with the Homegroup. If you want to share a library with the Homegroup, set its switch to “On” and wait a couple of seconds until the sharing is performed.

The “Printers” switch is for sharing all the printers that are attached to your PC or device.

Note, starting with Windows 8.1, Update 1, Microsoft has added a new switch that says “Let devices on this network (like TVs and game consoles) stream my music and videos.” If you set this to “On”, your “Music” and “Videos” libraries are made available for streaming. You can then stream their contents from your Xbox One console or from another Windows device, using Windows Media Player.

To turn off the sharing of a library or of your printers, set the appropriate switch to “Off”.

One thing you should remember is that sharing with the Homegroup is done on a per-user basis. Even if one user account can join a computer to the Homegroup, it will be able to set only what that user account is sharing with the Homegroup. Other user accounts can log in and share their own different resources with the Homegroup.

What if You Want to Share More than the Standard Libraries with the Homegroup?

This is a very legitimate problem that many users will have. As you can see from this lesson, the Homegroup’s control panel offers options only for sharing standard libraries and your printers.

If you want to share some specific folders or additional libraries that you have created, you cannot share them from these panels. But, you can share them with the Homegroup by using the Sharing Wizard or the Advanced Sharing wizard that are available in Windows. These sharing wizards will be covered in lessons 6 and 7.

How to Leave a Homegroup in Windows 7

Leaving a Homegroup is as easy as joining it. Go to the “HomeGroup” control panel. In the “Other homegroup actions” section, click the link that says “Leave the homegroup”.

A new window is displayed informing you that if you leave the homegroup, you cannot access or share its files and printers.

Confirm your choice by pressing “Leave the homegroup”.

Windows then takes a while to leave the Homegroup.

When done, you are informed about the success of this procedure. Click “Finish”.

How to Leave the Homegroup in Windows 8.x

Windows 8.x includes also a faster way of leaving the Homegroup. Even though the procedure shared in the previous section works also in Windows 8.x, you may want to use this method instead.

Go to “PC Settings > Network > HomeGroup”. At the bottom of the list with switches for sharing with the Homegroup, you will find the “Leave button”. Click or tap on it and wait for a couple of seconds.

Once finished, your Windows 8.x PC or device is no longer part of the Homegroup.

A Homegroup stops existing when all computers that are part of it leave. If there’s one Windows computer or devices on your network that is still part of it, then it will continue to exist.

Coming up Next …

In the next lesson we will share how to use the Sharing Wizard to share everything you want with others on the network. You will also learn how to share with other operating systems that are not created by Microsoft.

Next Page: Sharing With the Network Using the Sharing Wizard

Lesson 4: Sharing with Others Using the Public Folder

The objective for this lesson is to explain the Public folder concept, what it is and how it works. As you will see, this folder can be used both for sharing with other people that use the same computer and with others on the network.

SCHOOL NAVIGATION

1. User Accounts, Groups, Permissions & Their Role in Sharing
2. The Basic Concepts in Network Sharing
3. Customizing Your Network Sharing Settings
4. Sharing with Others Using the Public Folder
5. Sharing With the Homegroup
6. Sharing With the Network Using the Sharing Wizard
7. Sharing with the Network Using Advanced Sharing
8. How to Work With Network Drives & Network Locations
9. How to Share Devices With Others On the Network
10. How to View & Access What’s Shared on the Network

We explain how to share stuff with others, through the use of this folder and when it make sense to use it. As you will see, it is not very difficult to keep track of what you are sharing in this folder and what to find where. Also, the Public folder has the advantage of being indexed by Windows and anything you place inside will be returned in your searches.

You will also learn how to enable the use of the Public folder for sharing and how to stop using it when you no longer needed it.

By the end of this lesson you will have enough knowledge to decide whether this folder is useful to you or not and whether you would like to keep it turned on for network sharing.

What is the Public Folder?

The Public folder is a folder that’s found on all Windows computers by going to “C:\Users\Public”.

All the user accounts that exist on your Windows PC or device have access to it. Also, all network computers and devices may have access to it, depending on how you have set your network and sharing settings in Lesson 3.

For example, by turning on “password-protected sharing” in the “Network and Sharing Center”, you can limit the access to this folder to people that have a user account and password on your computer. If you turn off “password-protected sharing” then anyone on your network will have access to this folder.

This “Public” folder has several subfolders, including several hidden ones.

For example, in Windows 7 you will see the following subfolders: “Public Documents”, “Public Downloads”, “Public Music”, “Public Pictures”, “Public Recorded TV” and “Public Videos”.

As you can see, its subfolders emulate the existing Windows libraries. There are also three hidden subfolders: “Favorites”, “Libraries” and “Public Desktop”.

In Windows 7 you will find some sample pictures, music and videos that are shared by the operating system with all users. Below you can see a preview of the sample pictures that are found in the Public Pictures subfolder.

In Windows 8.x, the “Public” folder has fewer subfolders. For example, the “Public Recorded TV” subfolder has been removed. Also, its hidden subfolders are different: “Libraries”, “Public Account” “Pictures” and “Public Desktop”.

In Windows 8.x, the Public folder has no files inside.

Unfortunately Microsoft has not documented why some of the “Public” folder’s subfolders are hidden and what they are used for. The “Public” folder is indexed by Windows and its content is shown when performing searches, so that you can easily find what you have stored inside.

How to Share Using the Public Folder

The Public folder is somewhat hidden in Windows 7 and Windows 8.x. However, this doesn’t mean that you cannot use it. To make your life easier you can create a “Public” folder shortcut somewhere on your Desktop, pin it to your Start menu/screen, or in “File Explorer’s” list of favorites (“Windows Explorer” in Windows 7).

The idea of the “Public” folder, is that anything you copy into this folder and its subfolders is shared both with other user accounts on your computer, and with other computers and devices on the network. You make things simple by putting the music you want to share in the “Public Music” folder, the documents you want to share in the “Public Documents” folder, and so on.

Anyone can read, write or delete everything that’s found in the “Public” folder and its subfolders. Therefore, you should not use those folders to store files that you want to share only with certain people or only one user account. For that you should use the other sharing methods that will be shown in upcoming lessons.

In order to access what someone is sharing in their Public folder on another computer or device, open “File Explorer” (Windows 8.x) or “Windows Explorer” (Windows 7), then go to “Network” and select the computer that is sharing what you want to access.

Select “Users” and then “Public” and you will see all the subfolders of the Public folder and their contents.

Below you can see what’s inside the Public Music folder shared by a computer with Windows 7, on the network we are using.

Why Would You Share Something Using the Public Folder?

Using the “Public” folder makes sense in the following scenarios:

• You want to share specific files with other user accounts on the same computer or device.
• You want to give someone access to a file or a set of files but not to entire libraries or folders. For example, you may want to share a set of documents but you don’t want to share your entire Documents library. Copying those documents to the “Public” folder is an easy and fast way to share them, without giving others access to your other work.
• The person doing the sharing is not very technical and he or she has a hard time understanding how everything works. The “Public” folder is a simple concept and you can train them to simply drop there everything that they want to share.

How to Enable the Use of the Public Folder

The Public folder is “enabled” by default in Windows and when you install the operating system, this folder is always created under “C:\Users”.

It is also enabled for sharing on the network. If you want to double-check, go to the “Network and Sharing Center” (as shown in Lesson 3) and click or tap “Change advanced sharing settings” on the left. Find the “Public folder” sharing setting for the active network location, set it to “Turn on sharing so anyone with network access can read and write files in the Public folders” and press “Save changes”.

Now the “Public” folder is also turned on for network sharing.

How to Stop Sharing with the Public Folder

Turning off the use of the “Public” folder is possible only when dealing with network sharing. You can set it so that it is no longer available to other network computers or devices. However, you cannot set it so that it is not accessible to the user accounts existing on your computer. If you want to stop sharing with them through the use of this folder, simply delete everything you have stored inside.

If you want to disable the use of the Public folder for network sharing, go to the Network and Sharing Center and click or tap “Change advanced sharing settings” on the left. Find the Public folder sharing setting for the active network location, set it to “Turn off Public folder sharing” and press “Save changes”.

That’s it! That’s is all there is to know about the “Public” folder in Windows!

Coming up Next …

In the next lesson we will start working with the Homegroup concept and teach you how to create one, join others computers to it and, most of all, how to share with the Homegroup.

Next Page: Sharing With the Homegroup