Windows 7 / Networking

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Advanced Sharing

Advanced Sharing allows a user with administrative privileges to set custom permissions for multiple users, control the number of simultaneous connections and caching for offline files, and set other advanced properties. Some of these topics require training in or knowledge of network administration. The Public folder and selective sharing methods described in the preceding sections should be adequate for a home network, and much easier to work with.

For people who understand the concepts (and potential problems) involved, I will just quickly run through the process. Locate the folder you want to share, right-click that folder's icon, and choose Properties. Click the Sharing tab and click Advanced Sharing. Elevate your privileges (if prompted) and choose Share This Folder. Then click the Apply button. Set the number of simultaneous users up to a maximum of 20 and (optionally) add a comment.

To configure sharing permissions, click the Permissions button to open the Permissions dialog box for the shared folder. Here you can view existing sharing permissions and also add and remove users and groups. You'll notice that you are limited to specifying Full Control, Change, or Read permission sharing levels.

If the disk where the shared folder resides is on an NTFS volume, you can also set NTFS permissions, which are more flexible than sharing permissions. To set NTFS permissions, open the properties for the folder and click the Security tab.

On the Security tab you can add or remove users and groups and specify the permission levels for each one. The available permissions are more granular than the sharing permissions described previously, giving you finer control over what each user or group can do in the folder. As you assign permissions, keep in mind that the most restrictive permissions apply. For example, if you share a folder and apply Full Control for all users, but then set NTFS permissions so that all users have only Read access, then the more restrictive NTFS permissions will apply and users will only be able to read items in the folder, not modify them.