Lesson 2:Creating and Sharing Local and Remote Folders

You can use the Computer Management snap-in or the Shared Folders snap-in to share an existing folder or to create a new folder and share it on the local computer or on a remote computer. You can also modify the shared folder and NTFS permissions when you share the folder.


After this lesson, you will be able to

  • Share a folder
  • Stop sharing a folder

Estimated lesson time: 20 minutes


From either the Computer Management snap-in or the Shared Folders snap-in, you can run the Create Shared Folder Wizard to create a new folder and share it. When you use the Computer Management snap-in or Shared Folders snap-in to share an existing folder or to create a new shared folder and share it, Windows XP Professional assigns the Full Control shared folder permission to the Everyone group by default. If you select the Customize Share And Folder Permissions option, you can also assign NTFS permissions when you share the folder. Table 15.4 describes the basic share permissions you can assign to a newly created shared folder when you use the Create Shared Folder Wizard.

Table 15.4 Basic Share Permissions

Option Description

All Users Have Full Control

The Create Shared Folder Wizard assigns the Full Control share permission to the Everyone group.

Administrators Have Full Control, Other Users Have Read-Only Access

The Create Shared Folder Wizard assigns the Full Control share permission to the Administrators group and the Read share permission to the Everyone group

Administrators Have Full Control, Other Users Have No Access

The Create Shared Folder Wizard assigns the Full Control share permission to the Administrators group.

Customize Share And Folder Permissions

Select this option to create your own custom share permissions and NTFS permissions.

Using either the Computer Management snap-in or the Shared Folders snap-in is the only way to create a shared folder on a remote computer. Otherwise, you need to be physically located at the computer where the folder resides to share it.

Practice: Creating a Shared Folder

In this practice, you use the Computer Management snap-in to create a new shared folder on your computer.

To create a new shared folder on your computer

  1. In the console tree, under Shared Folders, click Shares.
  2. On the Action menu, click New File Share.

    The Create Shared Folder Wizard starts.

  3. In the Create Shared Folder Wizard page, in the Folder To Share text box, type C:\Library.
  4. In the Share Name text box, type Library.
  5. Click Next.

    A message box appears asking you if you want to create C:\Library.

  6. Click Yes.

    A message box appears informing you that C:\Library has been created.

  7. Click OK.

    The Create Shared Folder Wizard displays a final page of three basic share permission options and a customizable permissions option, as described in Table 15.4. You can use one of the three basic permissions or you can choose Customize Share And Folder Permissions to create your own permissions.

  8. Click Finish to accept the default permissions option, All Users Have Full Control.

    The Create Shared Folder Wizard displays a message box telling you that the folder has been successfully shared and asking if you want to create another shared folder.

  9. Click No.

You can also use either the Computer Management snap-in or the Shared Folders snap-in to stop sharing a shared folder.

To stop sharing a folder

  1. In the console tree, under Shared Folders, click Shares.
  2. Select the Library folder in the details pane.
  3. On the Action menu, click Stop Sharing.

    Windows XP Professional displays a message box asking if you are sure you want to stop sharing Library.

  4. Click Yes.

    The Library share disappears from the list of shared folders.

If you stop sharing a folder while a user has a file open, the user might lose data.

Sharing a Folder on a Remote Computer

If you want to share a folder on a remote computer, you run MMC and add the Computer Management snap-in or the Shared Folders snap-in to it. When you add either of these snap-ins, point it to the remote computer on which you want to create and manage shared folders.

To create a Shared Folder console to use on a remote computer

  1. On the Start menu, click Run. Type mmc, and then click OK.

    Windows XP Professional starts the Microsoft Management Console with a blank console displayed.

  2. On the File menu, click Add/Remove Snap-In.

    The Microsoft Management Console displays the Add/Remove Snap-In dialog box.

  3. In the Add/Remove Snap-In dialog box, click Add.

    The Microsoft Management Console displays the Add Standalone Snap-In dialog box.

  4. Click Shared Folders and then click Add.

    The Shared Folders dialog box appears (see Figure 15.2).

    Figure 15.2 The Shared Folders dialog box that allows you to specify a remote computer

  5. In the Shared Folders dialog box, select Another Computer and then type in the name of the remote computer.

    If you select the Allow The Selected Computer To Be Changed When Launching From The Command Line check box, you can choose which remote computer on which you want to create and manage shares. If you do not select this check box, the console is always directed to the same remote computer.

  6. Click Finish.
  7. Close the Add/Remove Snap-In and Add Standalone Snap-In dialog boxes.

If you want to create and manage shared folders on remote computers and you are not in a domain, you must create the same user account with the same password on each computer. In workgroups, you do not have a central database that contains all user accounts. Instead, each computer in the workgroup has its own local security database. For more information on local security databases, see Chapter 3, "Setting Up and Managing User Accounts."

Lesson Review

The following questions will help you determine whether you have learned enough to move on to the next lesson. If you have difficulty answering these questions, review the material in this lesson before beginning the next lesson. The answers are in Appendix A, "Questions and Answers."

  1. Which of the following tools can you use to create a shared folder on a remote computer? (Choose all answers that are correct.)
    1. Windows Explorer
    2. Computer Management snap-in
    3. Domain Management snap-in
    4. Shared Folders snap-in
  2. How can you create and share a folder on a remote computer?
  3. Can you create a custom tool that will allow you to administer more than one specific remote computer? How?

Lesson Summary

  • You use the Computer Management snap-in or the Shared Folders snap-in to share an existing folder or to create and share a new folder on the local computer.
  • You use only the Computer Management snap-in or Shared Folders snap-in to monitor access to network resources on local or remote computers.
  • You create a custom MMC console for creating and managing shares on remote computers by specifying a remote computer when you add the Computer Management snap-in or Shared Folders snap-in to the MMC console.
  • You can only create a shared folder on a remote computer using the Computer Management snap-in or Shared Folders snap-in.
  • You can allow administrators to specify the remote computer that a custom MMC console points to when they launch it from the command line.


MCSE Microsoft Windows XP Professional
70-270: MCSE Guide to Microsoft Windows XP Professional (MCSE/MCSA Guides)
ISBN: 0619120312
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2002
Pages: 128

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