[How To] Enable Sharing Files And Folders In Windows 7

 

Windows 7

Well most of us are aware how to enable network files and folder sharing in Windows XP. It was comparatively easier in Windows XP performing this procedure. Windows 7 has more secure features with network user groups, password protected sharing etc.

Sharing Folders and Files in Windows has been very useful where you can access files in some other computer in the same network. Another advantage is the data transfer rate is very much higher than other connections like USB. In a wired LAN the speed has reached 1Gbps. With these speeds you can transfer data quite faster than before.

The process of sharing folders and files is as follows:

Step 1:

Go to the Control Panel location given below. You can copy and paste it in your address bar.

Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network and Sharing Center\Advanced sharing settings

network and sharing center

Step 2:

Select the specific group profile you want to share your files with. For example I have selected Home. Change the settings as shown in the picture below and save the changes.

network and sharing advance settings

For the password protected sharing, you can select any. If you select Password protect on, you need to use our username and password to access the files.

Step 4:

Now go to the folder you want to share, right click on it and select Share with. You can select the people you want to share.

share a folder to share

If you select Specific people, you need to select and add the Computer Name.

file sharing

You can also change the Permissions for the people who wants to access your folder.

file sharing permissions

Step 5:

Now you can check in the computer who wants to access your files. Go to Computer->Network. Your computer name should be visible.

network discovery

Open your computer name and the folder(s) you shared should be visible. Now you can perform what you want according to the permission you have given.

open system in a network

If you can’t find your computer name in the Network, you can use your IP address to access the files.

You should know your IP to perform this. For example, type: \\192.168.1.4 in the address bar.  That is my IP. Your IP will be different. See the Notes below to view your IP.

use ip to open network computer

Now the sharing has been completed and the data can be shared.

Important Notes:

1. Firewall. If you have Windows Firewall enabled you should have allowed File and printer sharing. To allow, go to: Control Panel\System and Security\Windows Firewall\Allowed Programs

Check the File and Printer sharing Check Box.

file and printer sharing firewall

If you have a third party Firewall installed, you need to check these settings there.

2. IP Address. To find out your IP Address, please go to this location:

Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network Connections. Right click on the Adapter you are using for sharing. Select Status. Then go to Details.

view ip address

If the Host and the Client does not have a same Level of IP and profile, you may no be able to access each other. To change the IP Address Follow: Change IP Address of Your Network Adapters in Windows 7.

Enable Pin To Start Menu For Folders In Windows

Windows-logo pin_folder_start_menu[7]

Pinning items to the start menu is one great way for accessing them more quickly.By default Windows allows only programs to be pinned to the start menu.If you want to add folder to the start menu, follow this simple tutorial which will add “Pin to start menu” context menu option for folders.You can also pin any library to the start menu using this method.

Steps:

1. Open run command by pressing Windows button + R.Type regedit in the filed and click ok.

regedit run command

2. In the Registry editor (regedit), go to the following key:

pin folder registry key

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers

3. Right on the right pane and select New> Key (refer to the screenshot below)

pin folder to start menu add new key in regedit

4. Copy and paste {a2a9545d-a0c2-42b4-9708-a0b2badd77c8} as the new key name like we did it in the following screenshot.

pin folder to start menu new key in regedit

5. You are done with the tweak now.Press “SHIFT” key and right-click on any folder, you’ll see a new context menu option “Pin to Start Menu”

Pin to start menu option

if you want to rollback and undo this new change just delete the key that you have just added {a2a9545d-a0c2-42b4-9708-a0b2badd77c8}, which will remove the Pin to Start Menu context menu option from the folders.

If you want to automate the above whole process, just download the following reg entry file (.reg), and double click it, the corresponding registry entry will be automatically added.

Download

Note:

1. You can drag any folder to the start menu, hold it until you see “Pin to start menu” and then drop it.This will automatically pin that particular folder to the start menu.

2. The folders pinned to the start menu by this method will not expand if you hover the mouse over it.You need to pin them to the taskbar instead to see the expansion of the folders.