Just like with any desktop computer, you can share various folders on your laptop's hard drive for others to use on the network. Just plug your laptop in to the network! And then follow these steps:
1. Browse to find the folder that you want to share.
For example, start in the My Documents folder, or open the Shared Documents folder from the My Computer window. Then keep opening folders until you find the folder that you want to share.
2. Right-click the folder's icon and choose Sharing and Security from the shortcut menu.
A Properties dialog box for the folder appears.
If you haven't yet set up your laptop for sharing folders, then you have two options, as presented in the dialog box:
• Network Setup Wizard. Choosing this option runs the wizard, which you probably don't need to do.
• If you understand the security risk . . . blah, blah, blah. Scary, huh? But if you already have your network set up (you've made a connection to other computers in the workgroup), then - despite the warning - choosing this option is the fastest.
3. Choose the second option from the Properties dialog box.
4. In the next dialog box, select the Just Enable File Sharing option.
5. Click OK.
6. Select the Share This Folder on the Network check box.
The folder's name appears in the Share Name text box.
7. Enter a new name if you don't like the name that appears.
8. Ponder over the Allow Network Users to Change My Files check box.
By selecting this check box, you allow others on the network to delete, rename, move, or modify the contents of the files (and the folders that hold those files) in the folder that you're about to share. Do you want to give other users that sort of power? If so, check the box.
9. Click OK.
After some grumbling, the folder is put up for grabs on the network.
Shared folder icons appear with a little serving hand image beneath them. That's your visual clue that you've shared a folder.
On the network, the shared folder appears in other users' My Network Places windows. The folder appears in other users' My Network Places only when you have your laptop connected to the network and your laptop's up and running. (You can't access files on a computer that's off.)
Here are some tips about sharing over the network:
- Only share folders.
- You can't share individual files, only the folders that they live in.
- Don't share entire disk drives. Such wanton sharing is a gross security violation. Gross, I tell you!
- For security reasons, you probably don't want to share the entire My Documents folder.
- Other computers can't access folders on your laptop when you have your laptop in Stand By mode.
- You can continue to share folders, even when you have your laptop on the road with you. You don't need to unshare a folder just because you disconnect the computer from the network. The folders become available to others when you reconnect to the network.
When you turn selfish, you can remove sharing from a folder. It's a snap: Just repeat the preceding main steps, but remove the check mark from the Share This Folder on the Network check box in Step 6. Then you can click OK, and you make the folder, once again, private.
