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.
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.
In this practice, you use the Computer Management snap-in to create a new shared folder on your computer.
The Create Shared Folder Wizard starts.
A message box appears asking you if you want to create C:\Library.
A message box appears informing you that C:\Library has been created.
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.
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.
You can also use either the Computer Management snap-in or the Shared Folders snap-in to stop sharing a shared folder.
Windows XP Professional displays a message box asking if you are sure you want to stop sharing Library.
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.
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.
Windows XP Professional starts the Microsoft Management Console with a blank console displayed.
The Microsoft Management Console displays the Add/Remove Snap-In dialog box.
The Microsoft Management Console displays the Add Standalone Snap-In dialog box.
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
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.
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."
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."