Windows 7 / Networking

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How to Share More Folders

Microsoft starts you off by sharing your main libraries, and anything you put in them becomes available immediately.

But that doesn't mean you're limited to sharing those folders. You can share any folder you like, making it available for ransacking by everyone else in the homegroup. To do that, right-click the folder; from the shortcut menu, choose "Share with." (If the folder is already open, click "Share with" on the toolbar.)

The submenu offers you three choices:

• Nobody. This folder is invisible to other people on the network.
• Homegroup (Read). Other people on the network can see and read what's in this folder, but can't edit, add, or delete anything.
• Homegroup (Read/Write). Other people on the network can do anything to the stuff in this folder: edit, delete, whatever.
• Specific people. Here, you can assign privileges to manipulate this folder's contents individually to each account holder.

Leaving a Homegroup

If you're feeling a little private, you can remove your PC from the big happy network family, either temporarily or permanently.

Open the HomeGroup program (type homegroup into the Start menu), and click "Leave the homegroup." Confirm by clicking "Leave the homegroup." That wasn't so hard, was it?

You can rejoin at any time-you'll see a Join button in the HomeGroup program-but you'll need the password. (You can find out the password by opening the HomeGroup program on any other PC and clicking "View or print the homegroup password.")

Tip: If you're not using the HomeGroup feature at all, you can also disable it completely. The advantage is that the Homegroup heading won't take up space in your Navigation bar anymore.