Windows 7 / Networking

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Browsing the network

The Network window is the main location from which you can browse for shared resources on the computer network. The act of browsing involves visiting other computers on the network to discover which folders they're sharing and, optionally, opening or saving files on those computers.

To see which resources are shared by a computer on the network, open that computer's icon in the Network window. You see any shared resources listed in that network computer's window.

The most common thing you find in a network computer's window is the shared-folder icon, shown in the margin. The icon indicates that a folder on the network computer's storage system is available for access; you can look at the folder's contents, open files, or save files to the folder, depending on the permissions of the folder. (Permissions are security settings that allow or restrict access to a network folder.)

• Make the sharing of information between networked Windows 7 computers easy by using the HomeGroup. See the section "HomeGroup Sharing".
• Browsing through the network works just like browsing through folders on your own computer. Indeed, you most often browse for stuff on the network as you hunt for files to open or search for a location to save new files.
• Folders displayed in a network computer's window are shared folders, available for access by others on the network.
• Some shared folders require password access or that you have an account set up on the computer that's sharing the folders.
• Older versions of Windows also display any shared printers in a network computer's window. The network printer appears as an icon in the window, along with the folder icons. (In Windows 7, network printers appear in the Devices and Printers window.