File Sharing
Didn't your mom teach you to always share? 

So, what exactly is file sharing anyway? Well, it can be a lot of different things. But let's use this as an example. Let's say you have a really big image file and you need to take it from one computer to another. If it is larger than 1.4MB then a floppy diskette won't work. You could burn it onto a CD but only if it is smaller than 650MB. But what if this particular file is over 800MB? Now what? 

Enter the Local Area Network. With a LAN you can transfer files with just a few mouse clicks. And PRESTO! the file is now on the other computer. 

Another example would be if Junior needed to work on his Term paper for school. His homework files are on Computer A, but Dad is online playing Euchre or checking his stocks with that computer. Rather than procrastinating with his schoolwork or starting a heated debate with Dad, Junior simply goes to computer B and uses the Network to access his homework files from there. Junior uses computer B to access his files that are stored on computer A. All this is done without even disturbing Dad as he plays his games or surfs the web. How cool is that?

And when Junior is done with his paper on computer B, he can print it on computer A's printer via the network. Now, Dad might get a little interrupted when the printer starts up unexpectedly, but hey, he'll get over it!

OK, welcome back. Now we can get started.. In order to see your network, you'll need to double-click the Network Neighborhood icon on your desktop.

This should open a window that will show you the group of computers on your network. You may end up with a window showing just the icon, or you may see all of the computers in your workgroup. The image below is one example.

Now, if you double-click on one of these computer icons, you'll be able to see the printers, drives or folders that are being shard on that particular computer. As an example, we double-clicked on the 333 computer icon and the result can be seen in the image below. You'll notice that you can see the printer that the network is sharing. It is physically attached to the 333 computer, but all computers on the network can use it (because it is "shared"). 

You can also see a folder for shared files and a folder named Music. This music folder allows all of our music and MP3 files to be stored on one hard drive but any computer can access them and listen to them via the network. Otherwise, your teenager would have a copy of that folder on each computer, wasting a ton of space. Incidentally, this particular music folder is approximately 3.5 gigs of music so you might get an idea of what a space saver this tip is. 

You'll also notice the Shared Files folder. I make a habit of creating a folder within the MY DOCUMENTS folder on each computer and naming it Shared Files. This is where I keep files that are commonly shared from one computer to another. This would be a great place for the kids to keep their homework in case they needed to retrieve it from another computer like our earlier homework example.

So, how do I "SHARE" a drive or folder? 
Good question. You have to assign sharing to drives or folders and all of their contents. To do this, you simply have to right click on a folder, (this only works if you have configured your network) and select SHARING from the resulting menu. You can see an example below.

In this example, I have right-clicked the C: drive and am about to select SHARING. This will open a window for me to set the parameters and setting as to how I want this drive or folder  to be shared (actually it is an entire drive in this example).

The image below shows you the options you can choose from. Whether you are setting up a folder or an entire drive, you have the same options. You can give Read-Only Access, which means that others can only copy your files, but cannot make any changes to the original files on your computer from another computer. You can also give Full Access, which means that other people from other computers can change, cut, or even delete the original file from a different computer. And finally, you can also assign passwords and permissions. This means that someone from another computer will need a password before they can copy or make changes to your files and folders. 

Once you have set a folder or drive to be shared, you should be able to see a small change to the icon that represents that folder or drive. A few examples can be seen below. The hand below the icon signifies that it is being shared.

So now that you know how to set your drives and folders to be shared, you can begin to make your network work for you. To find out how to set up your printer to be shared, go here.