13.6. Working with Network Files Now that you know how to open shared drives and folders from across the network, you can start using the files you find there. Fortunately, there's nothing much to it. Here are some of the possibilities. 13.6.1. At the Desktop When you're working at the desktop, you can double-click icons to open them, drag them to the Recycle Bin, make copies of them, and otherwise manipulate them exactly as though they were icons on your own hard drive. Chapter 3 contains much more detail on manipulating files. (Of course, if you weren't given permission to change the contents of the shared folder, as described earlier in this chapter, you have less freedom.)
Warning: There's one significant difference between working with "local" icons and working with those that sit elsewhere on the network: when you delete a file from another computer on the network (if you're allowed to do so), either by pressing the Delete key or by dragging it to the Recycle Bin, it disappears instantly and permanently, without ever actually appearing in the Recycle Bin.
13.6.2. Using Start  Search As noted in Chapter 2, the Windows XP Search program stands ready to help you find files not just on your own machine, but also elsewhere on the network. When the Search window opens up (choose Start Search), open the "Look in drop-down list and choose Browse. You will be offered a list of disks and folders to searchand one of them is My Network Places. Click it and then click OK. You've just confined your search to the shared disks and folders on your network. In the Search Results list, you'll be able to see, along with each found file, the name of the PC that holds it. 13.6.3. Inside Applications When you're working in a program, opening files that sit elsewhere on the network requires only a couple of extra steps. Just summon the Open dialog box as usual (choose File Open) and then, when it appears, click the My Network Places icon in the left-side panel (or choose My Network Places from the "Look in drop-down menu.) Now just double-click your way to the folder containing the file you want to use. Once you've opened the file, you can work on it just as though it were sitting on your own computer. At this point, using the File Save command saves your changes to the original file, wherever it was on the networkunless you werent given permission to make changes, of course. In that case, you can choose File Save As and then save a copy of the file onto your own PC.  |
